


Carlita

by Cassowary



Category: Teen Spirit (2011)
Genre: Angst, Ghosts, Mild Language, Multi, Paranormal, Romance, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-10
Updated: 2014-08-02
Packaged: 2018-02-08 06:18:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 35,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1929882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cassowary/pseuds/Cassowary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is my sequel to the original film. Like Amber, Carlita has a chance for redemption after she dies. Her task is to get the least popular student in school to date the most popular student in school. As it turns out, the least popular student in school is still Raj Kukuri, who has major doubts about Carlita and his task.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Raj Kukuri had thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep after the events of last night, yet he found himself waking up the next morning. A glance told him that the prom tiara was still on his nightstand. He was never one to believe in the supernatural, but since he had learned of the creepy stuff going on with Lisa he wouldn’t be surprised if the crown was haunted. It had already been the cause two deaths. If that wasn’t haunted, what was? But then again, wouldn’t that mean the curse had now landed on him?

It was all too much. He wished he could go back to sleep, but his mind was already too flooded. Instead, he stretched, rolled out of bed, and commenced the rest of his morning routine. All the while, he was wondering what the situation now was at school. Was it cancelled? Would there be some kind of announcement? What if news trucks came to the school? Two student deaths didn’t exactly reflect well on the school. And they were both electrical deaths, no less. Principal Richardson could even be sacked over this. After he had mulled over these larger points, he began to reflect on the minutiae of that night. Were Lisa and that random kid a couple now? Who the heck was he? Where was Lisa’s ghost girl? And, though he thought this might be a little selfish on his part, was he still technically Prom King? He was willing to bet nobody even remembered his name after what happened to Carlita. They hadn’t bothered to learn his name before, so why stop now? Especially in the face of much more tragic and scandalous news.

On further reflection, Raj was just glad he could brush his teeth. They were small comforts, ones that she would never be able to enjoy again, he thought morosely. And as he brushed his teeth, he thought of Carlita brushing her teeth on her last day. She couldn’t have known that such a routine act was one of her last. He wondered how she would have spent the day differently if she’d known it was her final day. It was then that he noticed that it was nine o’clock. Wait, didn’t school start at eight?

With this realization, he leapt into action. He was already dressed, and he could skip eating breakfast. But as he frantically threw open the door to his room, he came face to face with his mom, whose hand was raised in a fist as if she was about to knock.

“Oh! Raj! You startled me!” she said with her hand over her heart.

“Mom! I’m sorry but I have to go right now,” Raj said frantically.

“But son, where are you going?” his mom said. “I made you a nice breakfast. I know you had a hard day yesterday.”

It occurred to Raj that his mom must think he had been emotionally scarred by last night. “I have to go to school, though,” he said.

“Raj, it’s Saturday,” she said gently, obviously concerned.

“Oh…that’s right,” he said.

“It’s alright. It’s been a strange week. That poor girl!”

“Yeah…”

“By the way, the school left a message on the phone.”

“Oh! Can I hear it?”

“The message is still on the phone, if you would like to listen.”

“Okay, thank you Mom.”

When he entered the kitchen a bowl of _aval_ was there waiting for him. Though he was glad for his mother’s sympathetic attention, he still went straight for the phone on the counter.

“Hello, student,” said the pre-recorded message, “this is a message from the Eugene Ashley High School regarding the events of last night’s prom. School has been canceled to accommodate grieving family and students. We will also be conducting an inspection of the school’s wiring, a process that will take about a week. School will be back in session the Monday after next. Once school is back in session, grief counselors will be available on campus during all hours of the school day. We will call with any further updates about the situation. Thank you for your time.”

“Poor girl!” his mom repeated, “I can’t believe how unsafe the wiring is at your school! Maybe I should put Anushka in a different high school.”

“Well, they’re doing checks on the wiring now, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” said Raj. “And you should let Anushka stay with her friends. By the way, where is she?”

“She still has school. School is only canceled for your high school, not for the entire district,” she said, “And you’re right! She should be with her friends. I just get worried about my kids. I’m so glad you weren’t hurt, Raj!”


	2. Chapter 2

Raj did not know what to do with a week off. He almost wished that school had continued, then he could at least see how the other students were reacting. His closest substitute was to call his friends. Besides, he was really starting to get curious about Lisa’s new boyfriend, if that’s what he was. He called Lisa when he had finished his breakfast and returned to his room.

“Hello? Raj?” she said when she picked up.

“Ah, hello,” he said. He was still slightly awkward about calling people up on the phone. Before he had met his film friends, he had almost never initiated phone calls.

“What’s up?” Lisa continued.

“Oh, well, I just thought that last night was crazy. I sort of wanted to ask you what was going on,” said Raj.

“Honestly, I don’t know any better than you.”

“Okay then…but what about your ghost friend? Did she, like, curse Carlita or something?”

“No! Of course not! Amber is really nice. She went to Heaven.”

“Hmm. Well,” said Raj hesitantly.

“Look, I know all this stuff sounds weird. It’s still weird to me, too, believe me. But what it basically means is that Amber isn’t coming back, and all the paranormal stuff is over.”

“Well, that’s a relief!”

“I’m still going to miss Amber. She was actually a pretty cool person when I got to know her. And she introduced me to all this new stuff. Y’know, fashion and stuff. I thought those types of things were lame before, but I was being narrow minded. Fashion can really help your confidence. And fashion makes you look like you know what you’re doing.”

“Okay.”

“And you know what else…If it wasn’t for Amber, I wouldn’t have met my new boyfriend. He’s so romantic! And he’s really nice, and earnest.”

“So that guy was your boyfriend?”

“Yeah! Isn’t he cute?”

“Okay. So you don’t really have any further information about Carlita’s death?”

“It was definitely not a curse. It was just a fluke. Like Amber.”

This didn’t exactly comfort Raj, seeing how Amber ended up. “So…” he continued, “When do we get to really meet this guy? We didn’t see much of him at Prom.” The phrase felt terribly awkward coming out of his mouth, but he didn’t know how else to ask the question.

“We have the next week off, so any time this week would be fine.”

“You know, I bet Carlita’s service is going to be sometime this week. Do you think we should go?”

Lisa paused. “I don’t know, we didn’t really know her…Wouldn’t it be kind of awkward to randomly show up at her service?”

“I think it will be a public service. Besides, I think we should go to show respect.”

“Okay, we can discuss it with the group. But when do you want to meet Aiden?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Whatever works best for you.”

“We can discuss that with the group, too.”

“Okay. Well, I have to go now,” said Raj, though he really didn’t have anywhere to go. It was just the only way he knew how to quickly yet respectfully end a call.

“Alright. I’ll talk to you later,” said Lisa.

Raj ended the call, and tossed his phone onto the floor next to his bed. He put his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling, which was decidedly bare. Then he had the distinct impression of being watched, and suddenly spotted something in the corner of his eye. He jerked his head to the side to look at his closet, only to see Carlita Cash standing there, arms crossed, in full Prom Queen attire.

“Give me my crown, nerd,” she said while rolling her eyes, and Raj scuttled backward against the wall, his heart instantly accelerating into a swift tattoo.

“Here, here!” he stammered while grabbing the crown and tossing it toward the apparition. “Please take it and leave my family alone!”

Carlita stepped toward the crown. She reached down to take it, but at the last moment she pulled away while shaking her head. Suddenly her face broke into a smile, and she let out a short laugh. “God, Kukuri, you really think I came here just for a silly little crown? You should have seen the look on your face.” She followed her statement with another abrupt laugh.

“Then…what do you want?” Raj asked.

“Shut up. Stop blubbering. I’m here on a mission,” Carlita replied.

“Am I dreaming?” said Raj.

“No. And like a said before, shut up. Now, apparently I was all set to go to hell because my actions on earth were ‘selfish’ and ‘cruel’ or something, but this angel guy told me that if I can get the least popular kid in school to date the most popular kid in school, I get to go to heaven. But I have to get it done within a week so we better get started.”

“What?” Raj said weakly.

Carlita sighed. “What, are you slow? You are the least popular kid in school, and Dakota Tandy is the most popular kid in school. Let’s go.”

“Dakota?” said Raj, “I think I danced with her at Prom.”

“Great. That means you have a head start, if she even remembers you,” said Carlita.

So was this what had happened to Lisa? Raj supposed he had it easier than Lisa, though, since by now he already knew that ghosts existed. But never in a million years had he imagined this would happen to him. Stuff happened to Lisa, and his other friends, but not to him.

“I want to help you,” said Raj, “but it sounds impossible.”

“Look, all you have to do is approach her at school. Nothing could be simpler,” said Carlita. “Besides, she’s a huge slut, and you’re not exactly bad looking.”

Raj thought that Carlita was being pretty harsh for someone who was supposed to be friends with Dakota. But maybe she was just bitter about dying. Yeah, that had to be it. And now to break the bad news. “School is canceled for the next week,” Raj said meekly.

“Wow, for me?” said Carlita. “That’s way better than Amber! We didn’t even get a day off when she died.”

“Um, they’re checking the wiring. They say it’ll take a week. But they _are_ going to have grief counselors.” Raj added the last fact so as not to completely disappoint Carlita in her strange death competition.

“Still better than Amber,” said Carlita. “Though school being out definitely puts a damper on things. Let me think.”

Carlita paced--or glided--around the room, while Raj quietly picked up the crown from the ground and put it back on his nightstand. Tragedy or not, the crown was a symbol of Lisa’s friendship.

“I know!” said Carlita, “Dakota loves hanging out at the mall. If you stay there long enough you’ll find her, especially if you hang out in her favorite stores. She loves Lush, for example. You could be hanging out there, looking at stuff…Oh, but it’s weird for a guy to hang out there on his own. Okay, let’s say you’re buying stuff for your mom. Then you turn around and see Dakota, and you say, ‘Hey, didn’t we dance together at Prom? You’re a great dancer!’ And you just take it from there.”

Raj had been floating on the surreal nature of Carlita’s ghost appearing to him, but now reality was starting to come back to him. He would have to date _Dakota_? But he wasn’t even her friend! He had no idea if they had anything in common. Why was heaven mandating that the two of them randomly get together? And why use Carlita as a vessel? Besides, most important of all, he liked someone else…But he continued to listen to Carlita, just because he had no idea how to say no to her, and he honestly wanted to help. If only he could help in some other way.

“Now, I’m guessing it becomes official when you go on your first date. Or maybe it becomes official when you ask her to go on a date. But either way, we’d better make it quick. Let’s go to the mall,” said Carlita.

“Um…actually, today I was going to do something with my friends…but maybe the plans changed, ever since, you know…”

“What, ever since I died?” said Carlita. “You can say it. It’s not a dirty word. I mean, look at me.” She gestured toward herself. “You think I don’t know how dead I am? Anyway, you change those plans right now. This is more important.”

“I don’t think Dakota will be at the mall today anyway. She’s probably mourning for you,” said Raj.

“Ha! That bitch?” said Carlita. “I doubt it. Besides, shopping is probably how she mourns. Do I have to remind you that time is of the essence?”

“…Okay,” said Raj, “I have to call them.”

Maybe Carlita was right, Raj thought as he found Colin’s number, maybe the process would be quick and painless. And the heavens honestly didn’t expect him to date Dakota forever, did they? Oh God, what if they did? What if he and Dakota we’re destined to get married? Destiny never sounded so hopeless.

“What’s up?” said Colin, shaking Raj out of his morose daydreams.

“Oh, Colin. Um, I’m sorry, but I can’t go to filming today. Something came up.”

“Man, is this about the girl that died? I know, it’s tragic, but we can’t stop living our lives because of her.”

Colin didn’t know how right he was.

“No, it’s not about her. Just, family business,” Raj lied.

“What family business? Can’t it wait?” said Colin.

“No, not really. I don’t have time to explain, I’ll tell you later. I’m really, really sorry.”

Colin sighed. “We’re never gonna finish this film! This isn’t how Hollywood directors work.”

“Sorry, I’m so sorry, I have to go now, bye,” Raj said hurriedly.

“Bye,” Colin said with exasperation.

Raj felt guilty. But he’d have felt guilty no matter what choice he made.

“Is it all settled now? Can we go?” said Carlita.

“Yeah…”


	3. Chapter 3

As suggested, Raj browsed Lush. He browsed it like a customer trying to find the rarest of soaps, and by the end of the hour (and after being asked if he needed help three times) he had the store nearly memorized. He began to feel guilty about browsing and not buying, so he bought some bath bombs for his mom. They came in all scents, and had interesting names like Fizzbanger and Dragon’s Egg. He also bought a set of shower gels for himself because he was almost out of shampoo, and he was honestly curious about what it would be like to wash his hair with something so luxurious.

Browsing any longer would be rude, so he found a bench where he could watch the entrance of the store. By now he was beginning to feel like a stalker. It wasn’t a good feeling.

Carlita hadn’t spoken to him much while he was in the store. Somewhere in the midst of his browsing she had disappeared, and he hadn’t seen her since.

“Carlita?” he said now, quietly. He was hoping they had some sort of psychic connection, since he was basically the subject of her mission.

Lo and behold, she appeared a few seconds later, and simply said, “What?”

“Uh, where were you?” he asked.

“Looking at other stored. I’m not your babysitter, Kukuri,” she replied.

“Oh. I thought you might be seeing your family or something.”

“I don’t have time for that. My afterlife is on the line,” said Carlita, waving her hand. “Did you have a real reason for calling me over?”

“I just, I think we should take a different approach. If time is of the essence, like you say, shouldn’t we take a more active approach that just waiting around at the mall?” said Raj.

“What, do you want to just show up at her doorstep? You don’t want her to think you’re a stalker,” said Carlita.

“This is already kind of stalkerish,” he mumbled.

“Just be patient, we’ve got a strategy going here,” said Carlita.

“Well, can’t you teleport to her? Just to see where she is? I mean, you just teleported to me,” Raj said with a shrug.

“Who do you think I am? Some all-powerful ghost? Yeah, I can teleport to you, but that’s probably because I’m assigned to you or something. Newsflash, I don’t know how to be a ghost any better than you do. There’s probably some ghostly term of service somewhere, but I definitely don’t have access to it. And even if I _could_ just teleport on over to Dakota, I’d have to know where she is first, wouldn’t I? Did you even think of that, you whiny dolt?”

Raj just shrugged. He really didn’t want to incite any more of Carlita’s wrath. But it was too late, and Carlita certainly had a lot to say.

“You think I want to do this either? Do you think I want my fate to be wrapped up with some socially inept kid? God, you can’t even talk to your friends without stuttering! But this is my _mortal fuckin’ soul_ that we’re talking about, okay? And getting a date will be good for your awkward little self. This is a mutually beneficial relationship, so the least you could do is stick to the goddamn plan and shut the hell up.”

So Raj shut the hell up. He supposed she was right, after all. He had to wonder if Lisa’s experience had been like this. Again, he chalked it up to the bitterness of death, but he would have to call Lisa later, that is, if he ever left the mall.

Another hour ticked by, and Raj had an extremely rushed lunch break. Yet another hour went by, and another, and another. Somewhere along the line he got a text from Colin that rescheduled filming to tomorrow. By then it was around three o’ clock, and he was perhaps the most bored he had ever been in his life. This was more boring than the waiting room at the doctor’s office. This was more boring than math class. Working a nine to five job in a tiny cubicle was better than this. Of course, he would have rather been stuck on the bench the rest of the day rather than witness Dakota Tandy walking toward Lush in that next moment. His heart immediately felt as if it had been plunged in a bucket of ice water, and was now being wrung out.

Carlita was gone again, and he was panicking. He tried to remember what she had said. _Hey, didn’t I see you at Prom? Didn’t we dance together? How are you?_ Dakota disappeared into Lush, and Raj slowly got up on wobbly legs. He really, really didn’t want to do this. But he began to walk toward Lush anyhow.

So Dakota really did mourn by shopping, he thought nervously. Or perhaps she didn’t mourn at all. The thought chilled him. He was glad his friends weren’t like that. He would like to believe they would at least be a little shaken up by his death, no matter how selfish that was. But he was avoiding the task at hand.

 _Go up to her_ , he told himself. _Do it now. Now. Now._

“Um, excuse me,” he said.

Dakota looked up. “Yes?”

“Are you…don’t we go to the same school?” he said.

“Maybe?” Dakota said.

“It’s really sad, what happened, isn’t it?” he said.

“Oh my God, yes! Isn’t it?” said Dakota. “You know, I _knew_ Carlita. We were like, _best_ friends.”

“That must be so sad for you,” Raj said sympathetically.

“It’s _terrible_. I bet this is going to be, like, all over the news. And it should be! Our school totally doesn’t look out for student safety and it’s _horrible_ ,” said Dakota.

“Yeah, you’re right,” said Raj. Dakota’s concern for her best friend seemed promising, as well as her concern for student safety.

“I’m, like, so ready to speak out against the school,” Dakota continued. “And since I knew Carlita _and_ Amber, I bet the news stations will want to hear what I have to say.”

Just like that, Carlita appeared directly behind Dakota. She was staring venom into the back of Dakota’s neck. The look in her eyes was one of a vampire sizing up its next victim. Raj’s eyes widened slightly, but he kept his composure. Meanwhile, Dakota babbled on.

“Like, I could be the head of a movement, here. This could get way bigger than any Prom Queen competition. The nation _totally_ needs to know!”

“Raj,” Carlita snapped. “Get on with it.”

He shook his head slightly, as Dakota went on.

“I know she talks a lot,” said Carlita. “Just interrupt her.”

“I--I--didn’t we dance together at Prom?” Raj said abruptly.

Dakota paused. “I don’t really remember. The whole thing is a blur. Like, it’s pretty tragic for me, thinking back on that night,” Dakota said with a pout.

“Oh, well, you’re a good dancer,” Raj said quietly.

Dakota tipped her head and raised an eyebrow. “Thanks? Well, I kind of have to go. It was nice chatting with you.”

“You too,” Raj said.

Carlita immediately went off on him. “You’re just going to let her go?”

Raj just shook his head. They were in public, after all.

“Kukuri, go after her, you stupid coward! Go! What are you waiting for?” Carlita yelled.

But Raj was already edging out of the shop. When they were successfully out of earshot, he whispered, “It’s too late, I messed everything up!”

“Who cares? You can’t ‘mess up’ with Dakota. Just tell her she’s pretty,” said Carlita.

“I told her she was a good dancer and she thought I was weird,” said Raj.

“That’s because you have the social skills of a slug, and you mumbled it like a serial killer. Honestly, rule number one of hitting on someone is to _not act like a serial killer_ ,” Carlita said, her voice tight.

“Carlita, I’m really, really sorry,” said Raj. “I’m really trying.”

“Shut the _fuck_ up,” said Carlita. “Sorry doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“We can try again tomorrow,” Raj said softly.

“Let’s just hope she forgets your face by tomorrow. I wish _I_ could forget your face,” said Carlita.


	4. Chapter 4

As suggested, Raj browsed Lush. He browsed it like a customer trying to find the rarest of soaps, and by the end of the hour (and after being asked if he needed help three times) he had the store nearly memorized. He began to feel guilty about browsing and not buying, so he bought some bath bombs for his mom. They came in all scents, and had interesting names like Fizzbanger and Dragon’s Egg. He also bought a set of shower gels for himself because he was almost out of shampoo, and he was honestly curious about what it would be like to wash his hair with something so luxurious.

Browsing any longer would be rude, so he found a bench where he could watch the entrance of the store. By now he was beginning to feel like a stalker. It wasn’t a good feeling.

Carlita hadn’t spoken to him much while he was in the store. Somewhere in the midst of his browsing she had disappeared, and he hadn’t seen her since.

“Carlita?” he said now, quietly. He was hoping they had some sort of psychic connection, since he was basically the subject of her mission.

Lo and behold, she appeared a few seconds later, and simply said, “What?”

“Uh, where were you?” he asked.

“Looking at other stored. I’m not your babysitter, Kukuri,” she replied.

“Oh. I thought you might be seeing your family or something.”

“I don’t have time for that. My afterlife is on the line,” said Carlita, waving her hand. “Did you have a real reason for calling me over?”

“I just, I think we should take a different approach. If time is of the essence, like you say, shouldn’t we take a more active approach that just waiting around at the mall?” said Raj.

“What, do you want to just show up at her doorstep? You don’t want her to think you’re a stalker,” said Carlita.

“This is already kind of stalkerish,” he mumbled.

“Just be patient, we’ve got a strategy going here,” said Carlita.

“Well, can’t you teleport to her? Just to see where she is? I mean, you just teleported to me,” Raj said with a shrug.

“Who do you think I am? Some all-powerful ghost? Yeah, I can teleport to you, but that’s probably because I’m assigned to you or something. Newsflash, I don’t know how to be a ghost any better than you do. There’s probably some ghostly term of service somewhere, but I definitely don’t have access to it. And even if I _could_ just teleport on over to Dakota, I’d have to know where she is first, wouldn’t I? Did you even think of that, you whiny dolt?”

Raj just shrugged. He really didn’t want to incite any more of Carlita’s wrath. But it was too late, and Carlita certainly had a lot to say.

“You think I want to do this either? Do you think I want my fate to be wrapped up with some socially inept kid? God, you can’t even talk to your friends without stuttering! But this is my _mortal fuckin’ soul_ that we’re talking about, okay? And getting a date will be good for your awkward little self. This is a mutually beneficial relationship, so the least you could do is stick to the goddamn plan and shut the hell up.”

So Raj shut the hell up. He supposed she was right, after all. He had to wonder if Lisa’s experience had been like this. Again, he chalked it up to the bitterness of death, but he would have to call Lisa later, that is, if he ever left the mall.

Another hour ticked by, and Raj had an extremely rushed lunch break. Yet another hour went by, and another, and another. Somewhere along the line he got a text from Colin that rescheduled filming to tomorrow. By then it was around three o’ clock, and he was perhaps the most bored he had ever been in his life. This was more boring than the waiting room at the doctor’s office. This was more boring than math class. Working a nine to five job in a tiny cubicle was better than this. Of course, he would have rather been stuck on the bench the rest of the day rather than witness Dakota Tandy walking toward Lush in that next moment. His heart immediately felt as if it had been plunged in a bucket of ice water, and was now being wrung out.

Carlita was gone again, and he was panicking. He tried to remember what she had said. _Hey, didn’t I see you at Prom? Didn’t we dance together? How are you?_ Dakota disappeared into Lush, and Raj slowly got up on wobbly legs. He really, really didn’t want to do this. But he began to walk toward Lush anyhow.

So Dakota really did mourn by shopping, he thought nervously. Or perhaps she didn’t mourn at all. The thought chilled him. He was glad his friends weren’t like that. He would like to believe they would at least be a little shaken up by his death, no matter how selfish that was. But he was avoiding the task at hand.

_Go up to her_ , he told himself. _Do it now. Now. Now._

“Um, excuse me,” he said.

Dakota looked up. “Yes?”

“Are you…don’t we go to the same school?” he said.

“Maybe?” Dakota said.

“It’s really sad, what happened, isn’t it?” he said.

“Oh my God, yes! Isn’t it?” said Dakota. “You know, I _knew_ Carlita. We were like, _best_ friends.”

“That must be so sad for you,” Raj said sympathetically.

“It’s _terrible_. I bet this is going to be, like, all over the news. And it should be! Our school totally doesn’t look out for student safety and it’s _horrible_ ,” said Dakota.

“Yeah, you’re right,” said Raj. Dakota’s concern for her best friend seemed promising, as well as her concern for student safety.

“I’m, like, so ready to speak out against the school,” Dakota continued. “And since I knew Carlita _and_ Amber, I bet the news stations will want to hear what I have to say.”

Just like that, Carlita appeared directly behind Dakota. She was staring venom into the back of Dakota’s neck. The look in her eyes was one of a vampire sizing up its next victim. Raj’s eyes widened slightly, but he kept his composure. Meanwhile, Dakota babbled on.

“Like, I could be the head of a movement, here. This could get way bigger than any Prom Queen competition. The nation _totally_ needs to know!”

“Raj,” Carlita snapped. “Get on with it.”

He shook his head slightly, as Dakota went on.

“I know she talks a lot,” said Carlita. “Just interrupt her.”

“I--I--didn’t we dance together at Prom?” Raj said abruptly.

Dakota paused. “I don’t really remember. The whole thing is a blur. Like, it’s pretty tragic for me, thinking back on that night,” Dakota said with a pout.

“Oh, well, you’re a good dancer,” Raj said quietly.

Dakota tipped her head and raised an eyebrow. “Thanks? Well, I kind of have to go. It was nice chatting with you.”

“You too,” Raj said.

Carlita immediately went off on him. “You’re just going to let her go?”

Raj just shook his head. They were in public, after all.

“Kukuri, go after her, you stupid coward! Go! What are you waiting for?” Carlita yelled.

But Raj was already edging out of the shop. When they were successfully out of earshot, he whispered, “It’s too late, I messed everything up!”

“Who cares? You can’t ‘mess up’ with Dakota. Just tell her she’s pretty,” said Carlita.

“I told her she was a good dancer and she thought I was weird,” said Raj.

“That’s because you have the social skills of a slug, and you mumbled it like a serial killer. Honestly, rule number one of hitting on someone is to _not act like a serial killer_ ,” Carlita said, her voice tight.

“Carlita, I’m really, really sorry,” said Raj. “I’m really trying.”

“Shut the _fuck_ up,” said Carlita. “Sorry doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“We can try again tomorrow,” Raj said softly.

“Let’s just hope she forgets your face by tomorrow. I wish _I_ could forget your face,” said Carlita.


	5. Chapter 5

This time, Raj went to filming. He took Lisa’s advice, and he decided to do what he enjoyed rather than let Carlita waste hours more of his time while ridiculing him. For the first hour of filming, she was doing just that, but she soon got bored and left to do whatever ghosts do.

The newest clay pig film started off with the pig looking at a framed picture of his pig girlfriend. He goes to find his girlfriend in the barn, only to find her in bed with the farmer. It was classic Colin: take something cute, then change it into something messed up. They had a farmer figurine from a previous sketch, but they had no girl pig figurine. Colin was hoping to economize by throwing some eyelashes and a bow on the guy pig, and then having them both appear in the same shot with some clever editing and effects.

“That’s why we need you, Raj,” said Colin. “You’re the tech guy. You know what’s up.”

Raj smiled. Spending time with his friends was much better than being chastised.

Lisa had shown up shortly after Carlita had left, because she had a dentist’s appointment in the morning. Anyhow, it didn’t put too much of a damper in their progress, because writing music was more of a background role.

“How does this sound?” said Lisa from across the room. She played a romantic sounding tune on her keyboard. The song was supposed to play when the pig was looking at the picture of his girlfriend.

“Could you make it more _up_ at the end?” said Colin.

“Up? What does that mean?” asked Lisa.

“You know, _up_ ,” said Colin.

“You mean upbeat? Or faster?”

“No, no, no.”

Aiden was also at the filming. Apparently the new couple couldn’t get enough of each other. Raj could tell that Colin was slightly annoyed at the interloper, but Lisa probably would have protested if Colin tried to kick him out, which would have meant even more lost time, and they were already behind schedule. The first hour had been solid focus, but now everyone was starting to relax.

“Hey, guys, did you hear what happened to Raj?” said Lisa.

Raj’s heart sunk slightly. He didn’t know how much he wanted to talk about the whole Carlita business. But Lisa told everyone nonetheless.

“That’s why I couldn’t come to filming yesterday,” said Raj.

“Jesus Christ,” said Colin. “The last thing we need is another ghost cutting into our precious filming time. What is with these uptight girls coming back from the dead?”

“Hey!” said Lisa, “Amber wasn’t uptight. I wouldn’t have met Aiden if it wasn’t for Amber.” She smiled at Aiden, and he gave her a little wave. Apparently Lisa had already told him about the whole business with Amber, and like the lovesick puppy he was, he wasn’t even fazed.

“If she’s really bothering you that much, we could have a talk with her,” said Selena, “You know, like a séance, like me and my aunt did with Amber.”

“A séance?” said Aiden, perking up.

“It’s okay, guys, I’m fine, but thank you,” said Raj.

Colin cleared his throat loudly.

“And we should really get back to filming,” said Raj.

“But this is important!” said Selena.

“Excuse me?” said Colin, “And this isn’t? Remember, I have to upload a new Crazy Pig every Wednesday, and we are shockingly behind.”

“Maybe you should make a less strict schedule,” said Selena, “I’m sure the five people that watch your videos won’t be _too_ heartbroken.”

“We have 312 subscribers, Selena, and they’re _our_ videos, not just mine. And we should all be concerned with the quantity and the quality of the videos we put out for our viewers. It’s the only way to build up a loyal fan base.”

Selena rolled her eyed. “Whatever.”

“Fine! Fine. Let’s take a break. It’s impossible to get you people to pay attention once a bit of juicy gossip comes along,” said Colin, his hands held up in defeat.

Soon, they were all sitting in a circle on Colin’s garage floor. Colin didn’t want them to go inside his house because he thought once they were inside they would never get back to work. At least while they were in the garage they were still in the work atmosphere.

“So was it weird for you to find out all this ghost business?” Selena asked Aiden.

“No, it was actually kind of exciting,” said Aiden, “Besides, when I saw Lisa, I knew that some unearthly force must have been drawing us together. And that was Amber.”

Lisa blushed, and Colin rolled his eyes. Aiden didn’t notice the eye roll, but Selena did.

“Colin! You were so skeptical about all the ghost stuff before. How does it feel knowing you were wrong?” she teased.

“Apparently being wrong about ghosts means I’m going to be pestered by them for the rest of my life,” said Colin.

“You deserve it,” Selena said with a smile. “By the way, Raj, is Carlita here right now?”

“No,” said Raj, “But she was here earlier.”

“Are you able to call her?” said Lisa, “I was able to call Amber.”

“Yeah. But I don’t think she should come right now,” said Raj.

“Well, we weren’t suggesting--” Lisa began, but Selena interrupted her.

“Yeah, bring her over here! We wanna give her a piece of our mind!”

“I think it would be pretty cool to see a ghost,” Aiden added.

“The thing is, only I can see her,” said Raj.

“Are you sure? I think I’m pretty in tune with the supernatural,” said Selena. “I mean, just look at my aunt.”

“Uggh…” said Colin.

“I don’t know,” said Raj.

“Do it, do it!” said Selena. “Carlita needs to know who she’s messing with.”

Raj looked at Lisa, who shrugged. Then he looked at Colin, who put his hands over his face and lied down on his back. “Carlita?” Raj finally said.

Within a moment, Carlita appeared, looking angry as usual. “Did you finally come to your senses?” she seethed.

“Oh, I guess I can’t see her,” said Selena, disappointed.

Raj went to catch Lisa’s eye again, but her eyes were now as wide as quarters, and she was staring directly at Carlita.

“Carlita! Is that you?” she said.

Carlita turned around stiffly. “Oh…great. My worst enemy.”

“What? I’m not your enemy, Carlita,” said Lisa. “I was trying to change the oppressive atmosphere of the school. It was oppressing you, too. I personally know how much pressure it is to stay on top. I was trying to help you.”

“And now she tells me she was trying to help,” said Carlita. “Oh, how sweet.”

By now everyone around the room was rapt with attention. Aiden clung onto Lisa’s arm like he was about to sink into the concrete below him.

“Sorry to call you, Carlita. I just…wanted you to meet my friends,” Raj said, slightly embarrassed.

“Wonderful!” Carlita said with mock cheerfulness. “I’m so happy to meet your friends. This is so helpful and useful. Thank you, Raj, from the bottom of my heart.”

“I…sorry…I don’t know what I was thinking,” said Raj. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Colin staring at him, and he became even more embarrassed.

“Come on, Carlita,” said Lisa. “He’s honestly trying to help you. You should really treat him better if you want to succeed.”

“Is that a threat?” said Carlita.

“No. I’m just saying,” said Lisa.

“I’m sorry, but this isn’t about you, Lisa. This is between me and Kukuri,” said Carlita.

“Carlita, you don’t have to stay. I don’t know why I called you. You can go back to doing whatever you were doing,” said Raj.

“Oh, so now you’re kicking me out?” said Carlita. “And little Lisa here was so earnestly insisting a second ago that you’re ‘honestly trying to help.’ Well, for a person who’s trying to help, I don’t see you doing much heavy lifting. You know what _I_ was doing all day?”

Raj shook his head.

“I was tracking down Dakota. You know, finding out her schedule, doing my part. Now if only I wasn’t saddled with some lazy, insecure imbecile,” she hissed. And with that she disappeared.

There was a moment of silence. Raj was completely mortified. Then Lisa said, “Wow, Raj, you weren’t kidding. She’s a nightmare.”

“But, you can see her?” he asked.

“Yeah…I was surprised too,” said Lisa. She put her hand on top of Aiden’s, as he was still gripping her like a lost child.

“Do you think that maybe it’s because of Amber?” said Selena. “Maybe you can see ghosts now.”

“Oh. Maybe,” said Lisa. “That’s pretty crazy.”

“I’m kind of jealous,” said Selena.

“Me too,” Aiden cut in. His voice sounded tight.

“You alright?” said Colin.

“Uh, yeah, thanks,” said Raj, though his heart was still beating at a fevered pace.

“Good. So now we can start filming again,” said Colin.


	6. Chapter 6

For the next day, Raj gave over all his time to helping Carlita. Her speech on Sunday had shaken him, and he wanted to be sure he was pulling his weight.      

Carlita had gone over to Dakota’s house after she had left Colin’s. As it turned out, Dakota slept till noon on days off, so all those hours Raj had spent at the mall really _were_ a waste. After Dakota woke up, she ate lunch in her pajamas. Then she spent another hour choosing an outfit, doing her hair, and putting on makeup. After that she went on the computer, and spent another good hour on Facebook and other social media. At last, she left her house to go to the mall. She spent another three hours at the mall, this time meeting her friends Paisley, Liz, and Nick. From there they went to Nick’s house, and at dinner they went out to a pizza place. They went to Nick’s house, invited more people, and eventually the beer came out and it was a party. Dakota finally drove home at two in the morning, stayed up another hour on Facebook, then went to bed.

“It might not exactly be a daily schedule, but at least we know where she’s most likely to hang out during the day,” said Carlita.

“Wow, what a schedule,” said Raj, “I could never keep up.”

“Of course you couldn’t,” said Carlita. “But this is really simple. All you have to do is go to Nick’s party, then you can chat up Carlita all you want, especially when she’s drunk.”

“Um…that’s not very noble,” said Raj.

“Do I look like I care?” said Carlita. “The only problem is, it’s Monday, and people are less liable to party on a Monday. Then again, school’s out, so the rush of no school might mean a lot of parties. All thanks to me, those ungrateful douchebags.”

In any case, Raj ended up in front of Nick’s house that very night. He could hear voices coming from the background, so he simply walked through the side gate, which was already open. For someone who didn’t often throw himself into these types of situations, it was very surreal.

He found himself in a large backyard with a glowing blue pool. Nick’s family must have been rich, because the pool even had a diving board, and the backyard was littered with artsy, stone statues. Some people were swimming in the pool, some were standing around in bathing suits, and some were still wearing their day clothes. The splashing sound of the water combined with the chattering and laughter of the various conversations, and all these noises were tied together by the sound of a top forty playlist emanating from speakers on a table, which also held an assortment of unhealthy snacks. Next to the table was a cooler, and around the cooler were gathered a couple teenagers holding cans of beer.

“Go and grab a beer,” said Carlita, “You’re useless when you’re sober.”

“I don’t know,” said Raj, “I don’t think I should.”

“Really? You’re gonna go all goody-two-shoes on me? I’ve seen you try to interact with people when you’re sober. Go and grab a beer right now,” Carlita insisted.

Now was the real test. Raj was really walking into a party full of people he didn’t know. He stepped toward the cooler little by little, hoping nobody noticed the impostor. But nobody did, and he successfully joined the group of beer-drinking teenagers. Inside the cooler was a bunch of Coor’s Light and half-melted ice. He grabbed one at random, opened it, and sniffed it.

“Get on with it!” said Carlita.

Raj took a sip. It was disgusting. He tried to hide his disgust, lest he be discovered.

“Grab another and find Dakota. She’ll love you if you bring her a drink,” said Carlita.

Raj did as he was told. Like a robot, he thought. He searched everywhere outside, but she was nowhere to be found. There was nothing to do but enter Nick’s house.

“What if I walk in on Nick’s parents?” Raj whispered.

“Oh please, they’re practically never here. Nick doesn’t know how lucky he is,” said Carlita.

“Really? That sounds kind of sad,” said Raj.

“Oh, shut up,” Carlita replied.

He finally found Dakota. She was sitting on the stairs, flirting with another guy.

“What do I do now?” said Raj, backing into the room he came from.

“You sit down and drink together. Talk and stuff,” said Carlita.

“But I don’t think I’m drunk yet. And there’s another guy,” said Raj.

“Of course you’re not drunk, you’ve only had one drink. Wait, have you even been drinking it? Get on with it! And another guy should be no problem, honestly,” said Carlita.

“But…it is a problem! I don’t know how to do these things,” said Raj. “Besides, I don’t want to drink too much. How will I drive home?”

“Christ, Kukuri. Most teenagers try to live in the moment, you know. Stop overanalyzing things. Now, go up to the dude, say, ‘I heard the girls are about to play chicken in the pool,” then sit down next to Dakota once the guy high-tails it out of there.”

“Okay…”

Sure enough, the guy sitting next to Dakota nearly leaped to his feet and ran for the backyard. Hormones were a powerful force indeed.

“Hey,” Raj said to Dakota as he sat down. He handed her a beer.

“Wow! For me?” she said, batting her eyes.

“Yeah, so we can drink together,” said Raj, though he was basically regurgitating what Carlita had said not two seconds ago.

“How thoughtful,” said Dakota, “What’s your name?”

“Raj,” he said, “And you’re Dakota, right?”

“That’s me,” she replied.

Raj took another sip of the nauseating beer. He was really not enjoying this entire experience. Maybe he would be grateful later for the life experience, but then again, maybe not.

Raj rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, you look really nice,” he said nervously.

“Nice like personality wise, or appearance wise?” said Dakota, who had apparently not noticed his nervousness.

“Both,” said Raj. He took another large gulp of beer. If he finished the beer quicker, he would have to withstand the nasty taste for less time, and he would get drunk quicker. Double win.

“Raj, huh? So you’re, like, Indian?” she asked him.

“Uh, yeah,” he said. He really didn’t know where she could be going with this.

“I think Indians are so, like, spiritual. It’s beautiful,” she said.

Clearly, Dakota was already drunk. And he didn’t want to tell her that he wasn’t religious at all, so he just said, “Yeah. I guess so.”

“And you guys are also totally in touch with your sexuality. I mean, didn’t you make the Karma Sutra?” said Dakota, and she was definitely slurring her words by now.

“The Kama Sutra, you mean?” said Raj, who was getting more uncomfortable with the conversation by the second. “Also, that was a long time ago. Attitudes toward sex in India are kind of different now.”

“Yeah, but still,” said Dakota.

It looked like she was in no mood to actually pay attention to what Raj was saying, so he let her prattle on. She put her hand on his shoulder, and he was distinctly aware of its slow movement toward his chest.

“I have to get another drink,” he said abruptly.

“Get me one too,” Dakota chimed.

He stood up and paced swiftly out of the room. “I don’t know if I can do this,” Raj said once he was out of earshot. “All she’s doing is saying weird, creepy things about sex and Indian people.”

“So? That means you’re in!” said Carlita.

“And it’s also really weird to have you standing there watching,” Raj added.

“If I leave, I know you’ll chicken out,” said Carlita.

Raj just shook his head, and went outside to grab two more drinks. As it turned out, some girls were actually having a chicken fight in the pool.

When he returned, Dakota said, “Thanks. And by the way, this is my seventh drink.” She laughed. “But it definitely won’t be my last.”

“That’s…good,” Raj replied.

“Do you think I’m sexy?” she asked.

“Um, yes,” he said as he sat down. His face was burning.

“Wow, that’s so sweet. I think you’re pretty cute,” Dakota slurred.

“Uh, thanks.” He couldn’t meet her gaze. He was too embarrassed.

Then she wrapped her arms around him, latching onto him. Raj absolutely froze. He didn’t know how to react. Dakota breathed into his ear, which he guessed was supposed to be sexy, but all he could think about was the alcohol on her breath. Her hand began to creep up underneath his shirt, and at this he absolutely leaped out of her arms.

“Um. I have to pee,” he said, out of breath. Then he practically jogged out of the room.

Carlita instantly began screaming at him. “What the hell are you doing? You were almost there! She was totally ready!”

Raj stayed silent until he had exited out the back gate. He carefully looked on all sides to make sure no one was listening, then he said, “She’s drunk! I’d be taking advantage of her!”

“Here we go again…Listen, you could have asked her to go out with you, and she would have said yes right then. Done deal,” said Carlita.

“But she probably wouldn’t even remember it the next day,” said Raj while getting into his car. “Don’t we have to go on a date?”

“I dunno. Maybe it also counts to have sex with her. You could’ve got that done tonight,” Carlita said huffily.

Raj was horrified. “But that’s rape!”

“Listen, she got drunk because she wanted to get laid,” said Carlita.

“You don’t know that! How could you possibly know that?” said Raj.

“Whatever! It doesn’t matter! I’m just trying out all my angles. Whatever gets me into heaven sooner,” said Carlita.

“Uh, do you think I’m safe to drive?” said Raj, while electing to ignore her previous statement.

“Of course, you dunce! You only had one drink!”

“But I’ve never drank before…”

“Do you feel drunk, you nitwit?”

“No.”

“Then drive!”

As Raj drove back to his house, Carlita was getting into logistics. “So we’ll try again tomorrow. This time you can get there a little earlier, so you can an earlier start on Dakota. Also, bring a bathing suit, maybe you can convince her to get in the hot tub with you. Doesn’t hurt to be half-naked. Just don’t run off like a pansy this time, I swear to God.”

Raj just nodded along. He had already come to a decision.


	7. Chapter 7

“She wanted me to rape Dakota. Oh my god, she wanted me to rape her…” said Raj, the horror still fresh in his voice.

Raj and his film friends were once again gathered in a circle on the concrete floor, taking a little break during filming.

Selena was slowly shaking her head. “That’s absolutely disgusting.”

“She still thinks I’m going to help her later today. At Nick’s party.”

“But you’re not, right?” said Selena.

“Of course not,” said Raj. “Actually…I wanted to ask you guys a favor.”

  “Of course,” said Selena.

  “I…I want to tell her once and for all that I’m not going to help her get into heaven anymore,” said Raj.

  “She doesn’t deserve heaven anyway,” said Lisa.

  “But…I’m kind of afraid to tell her alone…I mean, I know that sounds dumb, what could she do to me? But still…I’m still afraid,” Raj said hesitantly.

  “Don’t worry, man, we’ll help you out,” said Colin.

  “I was thinking that you could do another séance, Selena, so that you can all see her. And then we can all tell her together that it’s over,” said Raj.

  “Oooh, yeah!” said Selena excitedly, “This is gonna be great!”

  “Wait a minute,” said Colin, “Not right now, though, right?”

  “Colin, that crazy bitch wants Raj to help her rape a girl _tonight_. It can’t really wait!” said Selena.

  “Fine. If we’re doing a séance right now, I’m taking the camera along. Maybe I can get some sweet supernatural footage.” said Colin.

  “That’s fine,” said Selena, “Now what we need is a piece of the last thing she touched.”

  “Um, I’m pretty sure that was the power box on stage. And I’m pretty sure she got electrocuted just from touching it,” said Colin. “I don’t know about you, but I value my life.”

  “Alright then…Another thing you can use is an object that was important to her,” said Selena.

  “Do you think the crown would work?” said Raj. “I still have it at my house.”

  “Yes! That’s perfect! Let’s go! Colin, get your car,” said Selena.

  “I remember when I used to be the director,” Colin said as he opened the garage, “I remember when I had a dream.”

  “A séance!” said Aiden. “I’m kind of excited.”

  “Aw. You’re so cute,” said Lisa.

  Soon they were all piled in Colin’s car, with Colin’s camera in the trunk, and they were on their way to Raj’s house. Currently nobody was home, since his sister was at school and his mom and dad were at work, so they would be free to do all the weird paranormal stuff they wanted.

  “The first thing you do is get a metal bowl,” said Selena as she carefully stepped into Raj’s house. “That’s how my aunt did it, at least.”

  “I’ve got a metal pot. Will that work?” asked Raj.

  “Sure, whatever. Then put some incense in the bowl,” said Selena.

  “Um. We don’t have incense,” said Raj.

  “Something fragrant, then,” Selena replied.

  “Well, I have bath bombs. But they only work if you put them in water.”

  “Okay. That’s fine,” said Selena.

  “This is the cheapest séance of all time,” Colin commented as he set up his camera in the corner of the room.

  “Quiet, Colin. In order for the séance to work you have to maintain a mystical atmosphere. So no joking around,” Selena snapped.

  “Alright, alright…”

  “Okay, next,” Selena continued, after Raj had arranged all the ingredients in the center of his living room, “We need a bunch of candles to put in a circle around the bowl.”

  “Okay. But some of the candles are gonna be those mosquito-repellant candles,” said Raj. “You know, for camping.”

  “A candle’s a candle,” said Selena.

  At last, Raj had procured all the ingredients. Now that the candles were all lit, he turned the lights off, and the aura of the room immediately became spookier. But it was a hokey, Halloween spooky.

  “Now drop the bath bombs into the pot water,” said Selena.

  “Pot water? What, like bong water?” Colin said with a smirk.

  “The water in the pot. Now shush,” said Selena.

  The bath bombs were working up a good fizz, and the air began to smell of apple cinnamon.

  “Okay. Now put the crown in the pot,” said Selena. “And then everyone join hands.”

  Once Raj deposited the crown into the pot, Selena grabbed his left hand, and Colin took his right. Colin was also holding hands with Aiden, who was obviously linked with Lisa, who was finally linked with Selena, which completed the circle.

  “Carlita Cash,” said Selena, while the bath bombs gently fizzed, “Please give us a sign.” She waited a moment, then continued. “Show us your presence, Carlita. Can you hear us? Can you see us?”

  The candles begin to flicker slightly, but Raj didn’t know whether it was just a draft or whether it was really a sign of Carlita.

  “Carlita, we welcome you into our circle,” said Selena. “We would like to communicate with you. We mean you no harm.”

  Suddenly the crown began to shake, and the hissing of the bath bombs grew louder. They were just beginning to sound like feral cats when the hissing abruptly stopped, and there was Carlita.

  “What the hell is this?” said Carlita.

  “Carlita!” said Selena, “We have a message for you.”

  Carlita looked around wildly until she found Raj. “Raj, did you bring me here? I was just tracking Dakota and I’m gonna lose her if I don’t go back, so bye.” A moment went by, then Carlita blinked, confused.

  “You can’t leave as long as we’re holding you here. This is a séance, bitch,” said Selena.

  Carlita turned on Raj. “Raj? What is this?”

  Raj shrugged. “A séance?”

  “That’s right,” said Lisa, “And our message is that you can’t bother Raj anymore. And he won’t be helping you anymore.”

  “Are you serious?” said Carlita.

  Raj nodded shakily.

  “You don’t deserve to go to heaven,” said Lisa calmly.

  “Yeah? And who are you to judge, Lisa?”

  “You bullied Raj!” said Selena. “You encouraged him to rape one of your closest friends!”  
“I didn’t ask you, weirdo. I asked Lisa,” said Carlita.

  “Whatever Selena says, I say too. We’re a united front,” Lisa replied.

  “So you got your friends to tell me off, Raj? Like a coward?” said Carlita.

  “Yes,” Raj said with some resolve, “Because I love my friends. I trust them.”

  “Maybe you should try actually being nice to your friends,” said Colin, “It’s wild.”

  “Who asked you?” Carlita hissed.

  “You heard the lady. We’re a united front,” said Colin.

  Carlita stared desperately around the circle, glaring at each face. Finally, she let her gaze fall to her feet. She kept it there while clenching and unclenching her hands. Then she whipped her eyes back up to stare directly at Raj.

  “Fine! I don’t need you! You’re totally useless anyway!” Carlita said indignantly. “Screw you. Screw all of you. This is the last you’ll ever hear of me, Kukuri, you goddamn scum.”

  Selena tore her grip from Raj’s hand and pointed straight at Carlita. “Begone, evil spirit!” she said excitedly. Carlita disappeared at once.

  “And there you go!” Selena said proudly.

  Raj hadn’t known the weight that Carlita put on him until she was gone. Now he felt lighter than air. “Thank you so much, Selena!” he said, giving her a hug. “Thank you everyone!”

  “Aww, do you really love us?” Colin teased.

  “Of course! I’m so grateful for all of you, really,” said Raj.

  “I’m happy for you,” Lisa said with a smile.

  “The evil witch is gone!” Selena cackled.

  “I guess we should clean this up now that we’re done.” Raj gestured toward the séance setup.

  “You guys do that. I’m gonna check out what’s on the camera,” said Colin.

  “Wait! I wanna see too!” said Selena, and soon everyone had gathered around the camera’s tiny display screen.

  “Man, what if this is like _The Ring_ and we all die after watching this?” said Colin.

  “That’s just a movie,” said Selena.

  Colin shrugged and pressed play. The video began with Colin walking away from the camera and joining hands with Raj and Aiden. Then came Selena’s chanting, and the crown shaking, then Carlita appeared. Or at least that’s when she was supposed to appear. Where Carlita was supposed to be standing was instead a warped blur, and whenever the blur moved the surrounding objects became warped as well. The entire frame began to flicker, and when Carlita would have been yelling at Raj it entirely blacked out. The image reappeared with Selena pointing to empty space, and there was no more flickering or warping.

  “This is perfect!” said Colin. “Filmmaker rule number one: always bring a camera. It’s not just for documentarians.”

  “Are you gonna put it online?” asked Raj.

  “Sure! But first we’ve gotta get to work on Crazy Pig. We’re still behind schedule, you know,” said Colin.

  “Are you serious?” said Selena.

  As it turned out, everyone was eager to leave the whole Carlita incident behind them and get on with their daily lives. That meant working on the pig shorts together. Soon enough, they were all back in Colin’s garage as if there had been no interruption.

  However, when Colin was reviewing the Crazy Pig footage, he said softly, “Oh no…”

  “What’s wrong, Colin?” Lisa asked.

  “Oh God, oh no,” he said, leaning closer to the display monitor.

  “Come on, spit it out,” said Lisa.

  “The footage is tainted or something! I’m getting all this warping and cutting…and the audio is all messed up,” said Colin, panicking.

  “At least you already uploaded all of our previous footage onto the computer,” said Raj, attempting to calm Colin’s nerves.

  “Yeah, but everything we worked on _today_ is completely unusable! Oh my God…Is my camera haunted? Is that what this is? Why me?” Colin threw up his hands in despair. “Raj, you’re the tech guy, get over here and help me.”

  “Okay, but I really don’t know how much I can help,” Raj responded. But when he saw the footage, he knew it was irretrievable.

  “Can’t we put it on the computer and you can try to do some editing in post?”

  “I dunno, Colin. Maybe I could try to scale back the warping, but it’s kind of irregular, and it’s not gonna look right no matter what,” said Raj.

  “At least try. Please,” said Colin.

  Soon enough, the two of them were hunched at Colin’s laptop, while Lisa and Selena talked in the corner. After uploading all the footage on the computer, they realized that all of the videos taken on the camera had been infected. This meant personal videos, past Crazy Pig videos, and everything else. Thankfully Colin had backed up these videos, but Carlita’s effect was still disturbing, and no amount of editing magic seemed to help the newest footage.

  “Ghosts are pretty powerful, aren’t they?”

  Raj and Colin both turned sharply to find Aiden looking over their shoulders.

  “I hate ghosts,” said Colin by way of a response.

  “I think we’re going to have to film all new footage,” said Raj. “This is hopeless. I guess ghosts are pretty powerful, yeah.”

  “Hand me the camera for a second, I need to test something,” said Colin.

  Once armed with the camera, he started recording. He said “Testing, testing,” then began to walk toward the girls.

  “This is Lisa, and this is Selena,” he announced to the camera. The two waved.

  “And over here,” he said while walking, “is Aiden.”

  Aiden smiled sheepishly.

  “This is Raj in front of the computer.” He then turned the camera on himself. “And I’m Colin.”

  As soon as he finished, Colin rewound and pressed play.

  “Look, it’s warped again! She’s even warping new footage!” said Colin angrily. “I can’t believe this…How am I supposed to fix this? I’m pretty sure I can’t just take a haunted camera to Best Buy. Do we have to perform a séance on the camera, too? Is a séance the solution to everything these days?”

  “Hold on…let me see,” said Raj. He pressed play, and he heard Colin say “Testing, testing.” The footage seemed fairly normal at that point. Then he began to walk toward Lisa and Selena, and Raj noticed that Lisa’s face was warped into a spiral, while Selena’s face was only slightly misshapen. When Colin said Lisa’s name, the sound of her name was covered over by a high pitched whistling, while Selena’s name was still slightly audible under a slight hissing sound. Aiden’s face and name were subject to nothing but a slight flickering. When the camera turned on Raj, the movement slowed down and became choppy. Raj’s face slowly became more and more twisted; it looked like a piece of paper curling up in a fire. He couldn’t distinguish his name, only a horrible sound that was somewhere between static and a scream. Then the footage flickered back to normal when Colin’s face entered the frame.

  “Oh my God, Carlita really is haunting this camera,” said Raj.

  “You mean she’s like, _inside_ it?” Colin asked, obviously concerned.

  “No, I think it’s residual. Residual…hate, or something,” said Raj. “It’s really disturbing anyway.”

  “Can I see?” Aiden asked tentatively.

  “I’d like to see, too,” said Selena.

  “Me too,” said Lisa.

  “I’ll put it on the laptop,” said Colin. “Then we can all watch it, and pause it, and cross examine it. Do whatever you want. Crazy Pig is a lost cause.”

  “Sorry, Colin, really,” said Selena, “But this is kind of important.”

  “So I’ve heard,” said Colin.

  As they were watching the footage together on Colin’s laptop, Lisa pointed at Raj’s twisted face and said, “Pause it here.”

  “What? Do you see something?” Raj said nervously.

  “No, it’s more about the audio. Do you think it could actually be words, if we took the audio apart or slowed it down?” said Lisa.

  “Maybe. You’re the audio person,” said Raj. “Do you think it’s an omen?”

  “No, she can’t do anything to us,” said Lisa. “I bet she’s just trying to scare us. But then again, maybe she’s not even aware of what she did to the camera. Maybe you were right about that whole residual hate thing. God, she hated me, but she _really_ hated you, Raj.”

  “I know,” said Raj.

  “I’m just glad we got rid of her,” said Selena.

  “Hey, does anyone have the camera? I’m gonna pack up now,” said Colin from the table, where he was already putting away the figurines and collapsing the set.

  “Here,” said Aiden.

  “But if she can do this to a camera,” Raj continued, “Do you think she could affect other stuff like this?”

  “Maybe it’s because cameras are affected by magnetic fields or something. Don’t ghosts give off some sort of field, Selena?” said Lisa.

  “Ghosts don’t give off electromagnetic fields, if that’s what you’re asking,” said Selena, “But ghosts are said to cause changes in electrical currents when they pass by, which is why a lot of ghost hunters use EMF meters to look for ghosts. But even _if_ ghosts gave off magnetic fields, it would have to be pretty powerful to affect the camera.”

  “And this is why you skipped a grade,” said Lisa.

  “Aw, come on,” Selena said with a bashful smile.

  “But that means that theory is out,” said Lisa.

  Selena nodded.

  Colin sighed loudly. “Guys, please, I’m so sick of talking about ghosts.”

  “I should go anyway,” said Lisa. “Aiden?”

  “See you later, Colin,” said Selena, while Lisa opened the garage door.

  “Bye,” said Colin half-heartedly.

  “Can I see the camera one last time?” asked Raj. “I wanna look inside it. Maybe she left some visible effects.”

  “What are you expecting? Do you think you’ll open it and smoke will come out?” said Colin.

  “I just wanna make sure…” said Raj.

  “It’s in the case.”

  Raj retrieved the camera, and opened up the battery case. The batteries seemed normal enough. He was willing to bet that they hadn’t even lost any charge. Then he opened the memory slot.

  The memory card was missing.

  Had it been missing the whole time? He plugged the camera into the computer, but it couldn’t read any files. So it had definitely been there before, or else they wouldn’t have been able to upload any files. Was it Carlita? Was it possible for ghosts to do something like that? Knocking books out of bookshelves was one thing, but stealing a memory card was another.

  “Um, Colin?” said Raj.

  “What, did Carlita’s spirit fly out of the camera?” said Colin.

  “No. The memory card’s missing,” said Raj.

  “This is the worst day of my life.”


	8. Chapter 8

In fact, the memory card was now with a man named Ryan Heller.

    Ryan Heller had always had a deep, abiding interest in the occult, but he had a weak connection to the other world. He considered this weak connection to be his biggest flaw; it was certainly the thing he hated most about himself. But now he felt that even his weak connection couldn’t get in the way. He had all the pieces ready to contact Carlita, and he knew the method backward and forward. He had even waited until midnight to begin the séance, as many of his books said that the separation between worlds was thinnest at midnight.

    While holding a book about séances in one hand, he set up a metal bowl filled with incense with the other. In it he deposited the memory card he had taken from the camera, a piece of wiring he had carefully extracted from the faulty power box, and a piece of the crown that he had broken off. He began to ring a bell while chanting lines from the book, and this time it really seemed to work. Her presence everywhere, both within the room and within himself.

    “Carlita…” he whispered. “Carlita…”

    There was a whooshing, and a lifting, and suddenly Carlita appeared before him with a puff of smoke. Ryan’s breath froze in his lungs.

    “Carlita?” he said quietly.

    Carlita stayed silent, and only stared intently at Ryan. She seemed much less agitated than she had been at the other séance. Where she had been fire and temper before, now she was ice and calm. Though Carlita’s ice was no less frightening than her fire.

    “Welcome, Carlita,” said Ryan, his voice quavering. “My name is Ryan Heller.”

    “You. Haven’t I seen you before?” said Carlita.

    “Yes. You remembered!” Ryan said excitedly. “I was at the other séance.”

    “I don’t need another reminder. I’ll leave Kukuri alone, alright?” said Carlita. “Now let me go.”

    “I’m not their friend,” said Ryan. “They don’t even know my real name. I just want to help you, Carlita.”

    “That’s not the first time I’ve heard that,” said Carlita, crossing her arms.

    “Yes, but they didn’t know how to help you,” said Ryan.

    “What makes you different?”

    “I can teach you. I can show you how to become powerful. For instance, did you know that you can possess people and use their bodies?”

    “I don’t think so,” said Carlita, narrowing her eyes.

    “You can!” said Ryan. “It just takes some practice. But that’s not the only thing you can do. With my help, you can become _truly_ powerful.”

    Carlita looked Ryan up and down. “Why are you helping me?”

    Ryan smiled brightly. “I’ve always been interested in ghosts. I just have a hard time getting in touch with them.” He took a moment to stare at her, his eyes full of wonder. “Now let me show you my books. They have all the information you would need on gaining power.”

    “Power,” said Carlita. “What kind of power?”

    “If you apply yourself, you could be as powerful as the strongest demons.” Ryan pulled out a few books, and began to flip through one called _The Lesser Key of Solomon._ “See here, King Bael rules over the infernal powers, but anyone with enough strength and charisma could oust him. The rules in Hell aren’t as stagnant as those in Heaven. It’s survival of the fittest, and only the most deserving go on top.”

    “I see…” said Carlita. “It seems you have big plans for me.”

    “This is only an example!” Ryan said quickly. “You could do anything you want with your power. You could take revenge on everyone who _ever_ wronged you.”

    “Now you’re talking,” said Carlita, as a smile grew on her lips.


	9. Chapter 9

 When Raj woke up that Wednesday, his first thought was about the séance. But he was not thinking about Carlita; he was thinking about that moment when he and his friends had all joined hands. At the forefront of his thoughts was Colin’s hand.

  When he had held Colin’s hand at the séance, he tried to make it as normal as possible. Raj remembered holding Colin’s hand a little tighter when Carlita had screamed at him, and he hoped that Colin wouldn’t insinuate anything out of it. When the séance finished, he didn’t let go instantly, because normal people don’t fling someone else’s hand away as soon as the event is over. They just sort of let it go naturally as they turn their attention to other things. He waited a second, then started to open his hand, but he realized that Colin’s grip was still tight. It was tight for maybe fifteen seconds, and then he finally let Raj’s hand go. And this was what Raj had been agonizing about. Was that a normal amount of time for someone who was just your friend to hold your hand? Did it mean something? Although most of his attention had been focused on Carlita during the séance, a part of him never left his and Colin’s joined hands, and kept on agonizing about how a person who didn’t have a crush on his best friend would hold hands. And now, after he had agonized over this for a good fifteen minutes, he couldn’t believe he had agonized over something so trivial for fifteen minutes. He thought of himself as stupid and overly analytical, but then he thought again of Colin’s grip, and he was off again.

  At last his thoughts drifted to Colin’s film. Usually he uploaded the new Crazy Pig videos around noon every Wednesday, but he would obviously have to change his plans today. He would probably put up some sort of technical difficulties message for his subscribers. The message would say sorry, and the subscribers probably wouldn’t be too fussy. But Raj knew that Colin would mean that sorry with every fiber of his being. He was a perfectionist with high standards, and if those standards weren’t met he could become very upset and remorseful. His entire day, even his entire week, would probably be ruined by this small lapse. Raj was sympathetic, and he hoped that Colin wouldn’t be too hard on himself. After all, some things were simply beyond control.

  By this point Raj figured he had been lying awake in bed long enough. He got up and went into the kitchen to pour himself a bowl of cereal. On the table was a note from his mom.

  “Raj, could you please take Anushka to Bharatanatyam practice tonight? Work is busy from end of the year events and I have to stay late. Thank you very much.”

  His mom worked as an event planner at the local community college, and graduation was coming up. Her nights were becoming later and later. His dad, on the other hand, was a veterinarian, and he often took nights at the emergency clinic. Raj admired their passion for their jobs, but it meant a lot of time spent doing what he was doing now: eating alone, and reading a note from one of his parents.

  After he was finished with his breakfast, Raj plopped himself down in front of the TV and turned on some reality show that didn’t require much active engagement. In fact, he spent a lot of time drifting off and thinking about Colin. He embarrassed himself by acting so lovesick, but he really couldn’t help it. He thought of the séance again, and what Colin had said afterward.

  “Aww, do you really love us?”

  That meant Colin had taken special notice when Raj said he loved his friends, and he made sure to bring it up again. Did he want some sort of confirmation? Maybe the teasing tone was a front.

  _Stop overanalyzing, you idiot_ , Raj thought to himself. It didn’t mean anything. It was friendly, and Colin wasn’t the only one who’d made a comment.

  He thought back on how it had felt to hold Colin’s hand. He had spent so much time being preoccupied with how to hold Colin’s hand naturally. Why couldn’t he just enjoy the experience?

  He thought of himself holding Colin’s hand. They were somewhere else this time. They were alone. Maybe they were on a bench, in some shady corner of a park. Shady, but still letting spots of light through the leaves.

  “I always knew,” Colin would say.

  Raj was making himself blush. He shook his head and slapped his cheeks. _Stupid_.

  Colin wouldn’t talk like that anyway, it was too sentimental. He’d make a sarcastic joke or something. Then again, Colin knew when to be serious. He was very serious about filming and directing. In fact, that was how they met. In ninth grade they had both taken a film class, and for every group project Colin chose to pair up with Raj.

  “You’re the only other person in here who actually cares,” he said at the time. “Everyone else in here is only taking it for their GE requirement.”

  Colin started to say hello to Raj outside of class, and before they knew it they were hanging out together every day. Colin introduced Raj to Lisa and Selena, who he’d met in drama class in junior high, and soon they were planning their earliest Crazy Pig shorts. Talking with Colin and Lisa and Selena felt natural. With Raj’s old friends, every conversation was an effort. But he never quite knew how to tell his film friends how grateful he was for their friendship, so he just tried to be the most devoted friend he could be. It was easy with friends like that.

  As for Colin, he had started to fall for him as soon as he met him. His old friends had never given him their undivided attention like Colin did. When Colin talked to someone he would stare directly into their eyes. This was one of the many things about Colin that made Raj’s heart leap. That, and Colin’s perfectionism, and his passion, and his elegant hands, and his cynicism. Raj daydreamed about Colin on and off over the span of two episodes of Wife Swap, and by then it was about time to check for the new Crazy Pig video.

  As Raj returned to his room and grabbed his laptop from next to his bed, he finally took a reprieve from thinking about Colin and instead wondered about Carlita. If she wasn’t tied to him anymore, was she just a lost soul? Perhaps she would wander around for the rest of the week until her time ran out. Maybe she was already in hell…the thought made Raj’s stomach seize up. Carlita’s actions disturbed him, but the thought of eternal fire disturbed him more. Especially now, since the appearance of Carlita and her plight made Hell and Heaven a certainty. Angels, too. So what else was real? Was God real? This thought disturbed him more, because that made God’s indifference even more crushing. These thoughts were beginning to make Raj feel anxious, so he focused on the computer screen. A couple more clicks and he was on Colin’s YouTube channel.

And to Raj’s surprise, there _was_ a new Crazy Pig video. The title of the video was “Ghost Appears in My Video.” When Raj watched the video, it was exactly the distorted footage they had taken yesterday. Apparently Colin had gotten past the technical failure and was taking advantage of the ghost angle. It was certainly working, as most of their videos averaged about 1,000 views total, but this one already had 200 views after thirty minutes. At this rate, this could become their most watched video yet. They could hit 2,000 views in only five hours! Was Colin seeing this? In Raj’s excitement he decided to call Colin up. After grabbing his phone from his end table and dialing Colin, Raj leaped out of bed and began pacing around his bedroom.

“Yeah?” said Colin, just as Raj picked up an eight-ball off of his desk.

“Congratulations!” said Raj. “On the video, I mean.”

“What video?” said Colin.

“The most recent one. You know, the haunted one,” said Raj as he shook the eight-ball. It said “Ask Again Later.” He put it back down on his desk.

“Oh. What about it?” said Colin.

“It’s getting lots of views!” said Raj. “Aren’t you excited?”

“I haven’t really checked up on it since I posted it,” said Colin. “Actually, I’ve been trying to find out how to fix the camera. Do we need to exorcise it or something? I put some salt around it, since I heard that wards off evil, but I don’t think that did anything.”

“Did you ask Selena?” said Raj.

“I was kinda hoping I could fix it before we resort to an exorcism,” said Colin.

“Well, until you fix it, I think you should keep on uploading the ghost videos,” said Raj.

“What? Why?” said Colin.

“Because people like them. It could draw attention to your channel,” said Raj.

“I don’t want people to come because of ghost videos. I want them to come for my original content,” said Colin.

“Well, think of this as free advertisement.”

“Advertisement usually has something to do with the product, though.”

“Who knows? Maybe in the future you’ll make a horror movie.”

“Eh, maybe…” said Colin. “I dunno, maybe I’ll just drop the camera off with Selena so I don’t have to get any more personally involved in all this ghost business.”

“Maybe you could give it to her aunt. Have you heard of Selena’s aunt? She’s even more into the occult than Selena,” Raj pointed out.

“Hm,” said Colin by way of reply. He was clearly distracted.

“What are you up to?” asked Raj.

“Oh…I’m on the internet right now. I’m looking up how to exorcise objects, but I’m getting a bunch of stuff like ‘Top 10 Haunted Objects.’ Now that I think about it, I’d probably need a priest for an exorcism. This is becoming more and more annoying. Do you think the camera would stop being haunted if we vanquished Carlita?”

“Vanquished?” asked Raj.

“Defeated,” Colin clarified.

“Uh, I don’t think that’s possible,” said Raj.

“Aw man, these all say I need to be a true Christian to perform an exorcism. And it says I need to be baptized. I can’t even remember if I was baptized, I’d have to ask my mom,” said Colin.

“That’s too bad,” said Raj.

“Wait! Here’s something. ‘Five Steps to Cleaning Your House.’ Hey, do you want to come over and help me clean my house of evil?” said Colin.

“Well, sure. That’s better than what I’m doing right now. I just have to get dressed and everything,” said Raj.

“Alright. See you soon.”

Raj had putting off his laundry, especially since they had the week off and he would probably be spending most of his time at home in his pajamas, so the only clean shirts he had were dress shirts. As for pants, he could just wear the jeans he’d worn yesterday; he hadn’t dropped food on them or anything. Clad in a white button-up shirt and blue jeans, Raj fished his car keys out of his backpack and headed for the front door.

Outside on the front driveway was Raj’s mom’s old minivan. When Raj learned how to drive, his mom took it as an opportunity to buy herself a new car and to give him her old one. Now that Raj was saddled with the minivan he was responsible for driving Anushka to most of her activities. Raj didn’t mind, because the benefits of having his own car far outweighed all the new chores he was given, even if it took twenty minutes to drive Anushka to her Bharatanatyam class. In comparison, the distance to Colin’s house was nothing, a mere five minutes away.

Raj’s mom had also tried to sign him up for Bharatanatyam when he was a kid, but he was very resistant. His main complaint was that he would have to wear makeup. He told his mom that he hated having makeup on his face because you couldn’t rub your eyes and it was hard to wash off, but he was really just afraid of other kids finding out and making fun of him. He wished he had had a better reason for quitting…but what could he do? Now he was basically learning Bharatanatyam anyway, since he had to stay and watch Anushka’s class. This was because it wasn’t worth driving home and back, as the class was only an hour long. Besides, he actually enjoyed watching it.

As Raj pulled up onto Colin’s driveway, he reflected how he had never really told his friends about these childhood worries. He suspected that they wouldn’t care. And why bring up ancient history anyway? It was all irrelevant.

Colin had been leaning against his front door, waiting for Raj. “Ah, there you are!” he said, throwing up his hands and striding toward Raj. He clapped a hand on Raj’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s get started.”

Colin’s home always smelled like pine-scented candles, unlike his garage, which smelled like clay. The rooms of the main house were immaculate, no doubt due to Colin’s cleanly mother. The family pictures on the wall were carefully arranged in chronological order, with Colin dressed in a freshly-ironed tuxedo in every portrait. It was pretty clear which parent Colin got his perfectionism from. In fact, it was unspoken but common knowledge amongst the film friends that this was the real reason that Colin kept them confined to the garage while they were working; if they went inside they might just throw off Colin’s mother’s perfect arrangement of the house.

“Here,” said Colin, hunched over his laptop at the dining table, “First we’ve got to do a seven-way prayer of forgiveness.”

“What are the seven ways?” asked Raj as he peeked over Colin’s shoulder.

“You forgive yourself, your ancestors, and others,” Colin explained while counting off on his fingers, “Then ask God to do that, too. Then you forgive yourself for sins against your body, and you get God to forgive you as well. And finally you ask forgiveness for spiritual adultery.”

“Lots of forgiving,” said Raj.

“Yep,” said Colin.

“How do we do it?” Raj asked.

“You pray,” said Colin.

“Out loud?” asked Raj.

“Maybe? Let me try.” Colin cleared his throat. “Ancestors? I forgive you. For all the bad stuff you did, whatever that may be.”

“Me, too,” said Raj.

“I forgive myself too. And others. Like…Mr. Hoffman, for being a bad teacher,” Colin continued.

Raj grinned. “Also Mrs. Wainwright.”

“And if you could forgive all those people, too, God, that would be cool,” said Colin.

“Maybe you should put your hands together, if you’re praying,” said Raj. “Also, should I be participating?”

Colin clasped his hands together and shrugged at Raj. “That would probably take too long. Anyway, I forgive myself for all that sinful body type stuff.”

Raj blushed slightly.

“And God? Forgive me for that too.”

“Is this really just the first step?” asked Raj.

“What? You think an exorcism should be easy?” Colin joked.

“Guess not,” said Raj.

“And finally, I ask forgiveness for spiritual adultery, whatever that is,” said Colin.

“I think that means worshiping another god,” said Raj. “Like if you’re a Satanist.”

“Good, now I’ll know for my next exorcism.”


	10. Chapter 10

Ryan had not slept since midnight. It was now noon, but his curtains were all drawn so that his room was only lit by candlelight. The floor was scattered with books, and he was currently holding _The Grand Grimoire_ , from which he was reading a section.

“‘After having twice repeated these great and powerful words you can be sure that the spirit will appear in the following manner.’ Then the heading says, ‘The Apparation of the Spirit.’ ‘Here I am,’ says Lucifuge Rofocale, ‘what will you ask of me? Why do you torment my peace? Desist from striking me again with that terrible rod.’ The next heading says ‘Query to the Spirit.’ Then you’re supposed to say, ‘Had you appeared when I called you, I would not have struck you: consider that if you do not confer upon me that which I ask, I will eternally torment you.’” He put the book down and turned his wondering eyes toward Carlita, who was currently relaxing on the sofa, watching Ryan.

“Just think…” said Ryan, “That you could hold such power over this old and mighty being. It gets me so excited!”

“But for some reason you’ve never tried this?” Carlita asked lazily.

“Oh, I have! Unfortunately, I just don’t have a very good connection to the other world,” said Ryan. “It’s really frustrating, actually.”

“But you summoned me,” said Carlita, lifting her head.

Ryan smiled. He slowly got up, walked to the sofa, and carefully sat down next to Carlita. “I finally got lucky!” he whispered, while leaning closer. “And you just wait, I’m going to teach you _everything_.”

“That sounds great and all,” said Carlita nonchalantly, “But is it all going to bookwork like this?”

“Oh, no,” said Ryan. “This is just background…basic stuff. Soon you’ll be learning how to control your environment, and then you’ll learn how to control people!”

“You told me that before,” said Carlita. “But when will we start getting to the practical stuff?”

“Tomorrow,” said Ryan. “It’s just all these books! They’re so important. They’re basically an etiquette guide for demons. How to summon them, how to talk to them, how to get what you want. Fascinating, really.”


	11. Chapter 11

“What are you learning this week?” Raj asked Anushka as he waited for the light to change.

“Oh…we’re just learning some new steps in our dance routine,” said Anushka. Her eyes were cast toward the cars on her right, and her head was resting on her hand.

“That’s good,” said Raj. He took a moment to smile at Anushka, but her gaze was still focused on the window. The light finally changed.

“How is school?” he asked.

“I don’t like math,” she responded.

“Yeah, me neither,” said Raj.

Anushka just sighed.

“Uh, I know you must be disappointed that you didn’t get the week off, but remember that somebody died,” said Raj.

“Huh? I’m not disappointed!” said Anushka, finally glancing at Raj. “Well, school is boring as usual, but I’m not hoping for somebody to die so I can get a week off.”

“Of course!” said Raj. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

“No, don’t worry,” said Anushka. She paused, then continued, “Oh, and I’ve been meaning to thank you for always driving me to my dance classes.”

“No problem,” said Raj.

“I know it takes a long time, and you could be doing something else,” said Anushka.

“Really, no worries,” said Raj.

“If Mom or Dad could drive me than you wouldn’t have to waste so much time,” said Anushka.

“They’re busy, though,” said Raj.

“They’re always busy!” Anushka once more planted her head onto her hand and stared out the window.

“They work very hard for us, Anushka. I don’t mind helping out, either,” said Raj.

“What’s the point of working so hard for us if they never see us?” said Anushka.

“Don’t be like that. There’s always the weekends.”

“Sure, if they don’t have a fundraiser or a meeting or something.” Anushka sighed.

“Did you get in an argument with Mom or something?” Raj asked.

“No. Whatever,” said Anushka, “What’s on the radio?”


	12. Chapter 12

Ryan’s eyes slowly opened. His hand was still resting on a book splayed open on his chest. He stirred slightly before suddenly sitting upright.

“Carlita?” he asked, his voice afraid.

“What?” Carlita’s voice came from right behind Ryan.

He twisted his neck to look over the arm of the couch and saw Carlita sitting on the ground, aimlessly tracing shapes on the ground with her intangible finger.

“Oh, there you are! I was afraid you would disappear,” said Ryan. “Sorry that I fell asleep. You must be bored.”

“Your phone vibrated a couple times while you were asleep,” said Carlita. “It’s Lisa.”

“Excuse me,” said Ryan. He had to dig through a pile of books to find his phone lying beneath the _Pseudomonarchia Daemonum_. His phone told him that it was 10:17 am. Summoning his first spirit had staved off sleep for a while the day before, but Ryan had finally crashed around four o’clock.

“Do you want to hang out?” said the first text from Lisa.

“Hello?”

“I’m trying to call you.”

“Call me back.”

“I don’t have the time for this…” said Ryan. “But…I have to call her back for appearances.”

“Not really. It’s not like she’ll figure out what you’re really up to,” said Carlita with a shrug.

“But what if she tries to find me because she’s worried?” said Ryan.

“You two have been dating for less than a week. That would be kind of stalkerish,” Carlita pointed out.

“That’s right…I haven’t even told her where I live,” said Ryan. But he continued to stare at the phone, his other hand reaching up to touch his lips.

“What?” said Carlita.

“No…I have to call her,” said Ryan.

Carlita pulled a face, but let him go ahead.

After Ryan dialed Lisa’s number, he turned on his heel and immediately began to pace the room, or at least the section of the room that was free of books. As soon as Lisa picked up he began speaking. “Lisa! Sorry I missed your calls last night. I was doing homework.”

“You still have homework?” said Lisa. “I thought school was canceled for you too.”

“Yes, but it’s a big, long-term project,” said Ryan.

“Look at you, you’re such a good student,” said Lisa.

Ryan laughed uncomfortably.

“It’s alright, I was just asking if you wanted to get dinner or something. But now that I’ve got you, do you wanna get lunch today?” asked Lisa.

“Yeah! Sure. But I can’t stay long. I’ve still got the project. It’s due on Monday,” said Ryan.

“Wow, that’s cruel. Sounds like a mean teacher,” said Lisa.

“Oh, the meanest,” said Ryan. “I’ll tell you more at lunch.”

“Do you wanna eat at Taco Bell?” asked Lisa. “The one by my school?”

“Yeah, sounds good. Noon, right?”

“Yes.”

“Very good. I’ll see you there, Lisa.”

“Bye, Aiden.”

Ryan let out a sigh as if he had been holding his breath for the whole call. “I’ll be gone at noon. Lunch,” he told Carlita.

“Fine,” said Carlita. “Have lunch with your fake girlfriend. I’ll just stick around here and read books, even though I can’t even turn the pages.”

“Today I can teach you how to do that,” said Ryan.

Carlita blinked. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. Spirits can manifest themselves in limited ways, and one of these ways is by moving inanimate objects. Like all those ghost stories you hear about someone getting a book thrown at them or seeing a chair hover. You can do that too,” said Ryan.

“Hell yeah!” said Carlita. “Can you teach me how to do that before you leave for lunch?”

“I can start teaching you right now,” said Ryan. “Then it’s just a matter of practice.”

“Okay. Teach me how to turn a page,” said Carlita.

“From all my readings I’ve learned that ghosts can move things when they’re in a state of high emotion. Usually anger,” Ryan explained. “I believe that if spirits can learn to control their anger and unleash it at will, they can move objects easily and reliably. If you become good enough, you could even interact with the objects in a near-human fashion, as if you’re picking them up and touching them, even though you’re not.”

“So I’ve gotta get angry?” said Carlita. “Simple. Just show me Lisa Summers’ stupid face.”

“Would that work?” said Ryan.

“Sure. Nothing annoys me quite like that prissy face of hers. Reminds me of everything that’s wrong with the world,” said Carlita.

“I think I’ve actually got a picture of her on my phone,” said Ryan. “Yes, here it is.”

The picture was from prom night. She was smiling and standing with her arm around another girl, that crazy, witchy one from the séance.

“Look at them! They’re not even in prom dresses! She thought she could swoop in and save everyone from the tyranny of prom or something. It’s high school, get a life!” said Carlita. “Actually, don’t get a life. Go and die. Then we’ll be even.”

As she spoke, Carlita’s fingers slowly curled up into claws, her perfectly manicured nails looking more and more like deadly talons. Something in her aspect changed, and her eyes hardened. Ryan simply stared on in glee.

“Lisa Summers. You stepped on my dreams for your pitiful equality message. I’ll bet you anything that nothing’s changed! You don’t know high schoolers like I do. At heart they’re all scared little mice who need somebody to follow.” At this, a page from an open book in front of Carlita began to flutter, as if there was a faint wind in the room.

“I bet you were the one who convinced Kukuri to stop helping me. You always loved seeing me fail. Like that time you basically high jacked my party. Oh, but sweet little Lisa could never do a thing like that! You make _sick_.” More of the pages began to flutter, and suddenly all of the pages began turning, and when the last page had turned the book slammed shut.

“You did it!” said Ryan. The phone slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground as he rushed toward Carlita. “Now all you need to do is keep on practicing! Practice on everything and anything. You’re welcome to practice on anything in my apartment. It’s kind of small, though. Maybe I could bring you outside! All in good time, all in good time.” He was absolutely giddy, practically bouncing on his feet.

Carlita’s eyes had closed. Her hands slowly unclenched and a serene smile overtook her face.

“So talented,” Ryan whispered.


	13. Chapter 13

There she was, waving from outside Taco Bell. Ryan sighed, then smiled brightly and waved back.

“Hey there!” Lisa called. “You look pretty tired.”

“It’s just the project,” said Ryan, finally reaching the spot where Lisa stood. He kissed her cheek, and she smiled shyly.

“Let’s go inside,” said Lisa. When she turned around, Ryan wiped his mouth off.

The inside of the restaurant was fairly crowded, since it was right in the middle of the lunch rush hour. They ordered quickly, and Ryan waited for the order while Lisa saved a table outside. Every moment, he was looking at the time on his phone. He fidgeted, he cracked his knuckles, he tapped his fingers on the counter. The orders finally came out, and he snapped them up and rushed outside.

“You know,” Lisa said as Ryan approached their table, “You still look good even though you look tired.”

“Oh. Thanks. Here’s your burrito.”

“So! You said you would tell me about your awful teacher?”

“It’s for a History class. It’s a research project, and it counts for forty percent of our total grade,” said Ryan.

“Ouch!” said Lisa.

“I’m writing about trade…and gunpowder. Stuff like that. It’s pretty boring. But if I wrote about anything interesting the teacher probably wouldn’t like it. He’s a boring guy who loves boring stuff.”

“Nasty,” said Lisa.

Ryan nodded, and the conversation dropped off for a bit as they both dug into their meals.

“And he’s having it due on a Monday!” Lisa finally said. “I hate it when teachers have you work over the weekend. I always prefer having assignments due on Friday.”

“Uh-huh,” said Ryan while staring off into space.

“Well, I believe in you, Aiden. You can do it,” said Lisa.

Ryan said nothing.


	14. Chapter 14

In just a few hours, Carlita had worked past having to practically throw a tantrum in order to turn the pages of a book. Now she only needed to glare at the book in order to flip a page. The pages still flipped too roughly, and every once in a while she even tore a page. Currently, she was attempting to turn pages gradually. A quick, angry page turn, as it turned out, was much easier than a slow, contemplative page turn. One page would float up, quaver at the peak of the turn, then float back down to its former place. Another page would reach the top normally, but then the next page would begin to turn before the last page would finish. If Carlita was becoming frustrated she was very good at hiding it, as her face retained an expression of icy focus.

Where Carlita’s eyes were focused on the task at hand, Ryan’s eyes were focused on Carlita. It was a focus so intense that he barely blinked, barely even moved. Every movement caused a slight flicker of his pupils.

And then Carlita turned; their eyes met, and his pupils constricted.

“Let’s take a break,” said Carlita. “I’ve got something to ask you.”

“Anything,” said Ryan.

“How did you and Lisa meet?”

Ryan blinked a few times. “We were both shopping for clothes, and she approached me.”

“ _She_ approached _you_?” asked Carlita.

Ryan nodded.

“But I thought you only went out with her to get at me,” said Carlita. “That makes no sense.”

“I…I was staring at her. And she noticed,” said Ryan. “It’s because I saw her talking to herself…But she wasn’t talking to herself, she was talking to a space beside her. I knew somebody was there. I knew she wasn’t insane, and I wasn’t insane.”

“Wait a minute…” said Carlita. “What do you mean somebody was there?”

Ryan’s head jerked up, and he brought a hand to his forehead. “I forgot to tell you! Oh my God! I’m so stupid…How could I? I was just so involved…”

“Okay, come on, what are you talking about?” Carlita said, her tone agitated.

“It was Amber. She came back, like you did,” Ryan explained.

“What?” Carlita said quietly.

“I knew I had to latch on to Lisa if I wanted to find out more about the spirit that was following her, but I didn’t want to scare her away,” Ryan continued. “She ran off anyway, but she mentioned that she was going to a prom soon. I drove all over town. I went to seven different proms. But I finally found her. That was the night you died. I saw it!”

“Okay, but what about Amber?” Carlita persisted.

Ryan turned his gaze to the floor. His words sounded slow and deliberate. “After you died Lisa was all shaken up. She stayed up late telling me everything. I was surprised that she was telling me all this, since she barely knew me, but I didn’t discourage her. That’s how I found out that Amber had completed her task and had left that night. I was disappointed. But I decided to stick around. I didn’t want to give up so easily.” Ryan’s voice was quiet. It was the quiet of someone sharing his deepest secrets, his inflections both tentative and trembling. “I was right to wait, because I found out that you had returned when I accompanied Lisa to her filming project.” At this, Ryan turned his gaze toward Carlita. “I had to hide my feelings. I had to bide my time. I collected objects for my own séance, and I finally, _finally_ succeeded.” He smiled. “It was beautiful. You were beautiful.”

Carlita held his gaze, then she nodded. “I’m glad…that you went to all the trouble. Now let’s keep on practicing.”

Her focus turned to the tattered books once again.


	15. Chapter 15

Dinner was as usual. Forks clinked while Raj’s mother spoke about her work worries and Raj’s father told another story about today’s sick dog. Graduation and pets was all Raj heard about, until he was practically envisioning a cat giving a commencement speech.

“Anushka, would you like more _kootu_?” asked Raj’s mother.

“No, thank you,” said Anushka.

“Are you sure? You’re a growing girl, after all.”

“Raj is a growing boy. Why don’t you ask him?” said Anushka.

“Oh, no thank you, Mom, but it was very good,” said Raj.

“Malarvizhi, _I’d_ like some more,” said Raj’s father.

“Okay, but save some extras for the kids, Ganan,” said Malarvizhi. “Maybe they can eat it tomorrow.”

“Just let him eat whatever he wants, Mom,” said Anushka. “It’s useless to save food that we’re probably going to throw out later.”

“You don’t know that we’ll throw it out,” said Malarvizhi. “You’ll eat it, right Raj?”

“Maybe,” said Raj.

“There you go,” said Malarvizhi.

“He didn’t say yes,” said Anushka, “He said maybe.”

“Don’t worry, Anushka,” said Ganan. “It will get taken care of eventually. What a thing to worry about!”

Anushka frowned. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

Raj deftly tried to excuse himself from the table. He could tell Anushka was working her way up to a fight, and he somehow always found himself stuck awkwardly on the sidelines of these matches. Unfortunately, Anushka chose that moment to point right at Raj.

“Raj and I were talking about this. We’re sick of how you never pay attention to us. You’re always at your jobs and talking about your jobs,” said Anushka.

Raj wanted to quickly save himself and get out of there. “That’s not true! Besides, what does that have to do with saving food?”

“That’s just part of it! It’s more than the food! It’s the way you come home and tell us how to do things after leaving us alone all day!” said Anushka.

“Anushka! How could you speak to me this way?” said Malarvizhi. “Raj doesn’t speak to me like this! He knows that I--we--your father and I, we work very hard for the two of you.”

Ganan put up his hand. “Malarvizhi, I know why she’s upset. Anushka, I know we’re not home a lot, but we still love you. Trust me, I would like to be home with you kids more often.”

“Ugh,” Anushka replied, before standing up and leaving the table. Her steps receded, and ended with the slam of a door.

Malarvizhi stared after her and shook her head, while Ganan crossed his arms and sighed.

“Um, I’ll do the dishes,” said Raj as he was beginning to stand up.

Soon, everyone had gone into their respective rooms. The soft murmur of his parents’ voices reached him from down the hallway, while Anushka’s room gave off pure silence. Doing the dishes was a perfect task to let the mind wander, but Raj was still focused on the dinner conversation.    Raj wanted to chalk Anushka’s moods up to her age, but he definitely wasn’t as confrontational as she was at fourteen. Then again, perhaps he just wasn’t brave enough to be confrontational.

Even so, he couldn’t quite pin down Anushka’s issue. Sure, their parents were very busy, but they usually tried to come home for dinner, and if that failed there were always the weekends. Clearly it was more than the food…perhaps it was even more than their frequent absences. Maybe it really _was_ Anushka’s age. She was becoming a teenager, so it was only natural for her to start resenting their parents, and thinking that their jobs were boring. Raj had so far progressed through his teen years with little to no incident, so Anushka’s outbursts were more surprising to his parents, who had never experienced _this_ type of teen. Yes, that had to be it.

That being settled, he began to think again of Carlita. The topic always clutched at his heart. Since he had first envisioned Hell, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. What a terrible fate, and for all of eternity! Perhaps great sinners needed a little bit of time in hell, but eternity seemed like overkill to Raj, even for the worst of the worst. Anyone could become good after burning in a pit of fire for a hundred years. It was impossible to contemplate. He liked to believe that one could get used to constant pain, but what sort of existence would that be? How wretched do one’s circumstances have to be that pain becomes normal? And once the pain becomes normal, the only thing left is longing, for Heaven, and tremendous guilt, for past sins. Raj could barely handle guilt alone.

He tried to comfort himself. Maybe there _was_ eventual mercy. All he knew of the afterlife was that Heaven and Hell existed, he didn’t know exactly how they worked. Perhaps they were entirely different than what the common conceptions implied. Perhaps Hell was really just Purgatory, and all inhabitants would eventually make it to Heaven after doing their time. This was what Raj had to believe to set his heart at ease.

The only real solvent was distraction. A momentary distraction was a tough stain on the bottom of a pot. But he needed a better distraction. His mind flew to Colin.

Yesterday, after they had finished “cleansing” the house, they checked the video camera once more. Even with a brand new memory card from Target, the half-hearted ceremony hadn’t worked. Neither of them had really expected it to work, but Colin was still legitimately disappointed. He had then stated, “All I want is my camera back, I’ll leave all that ghosty stuff to Selena.”

“Do you want some chocolate?” he had suggested next. “I bought it after filming yesterday, to make myself feel better.”

“Yeah!” said Raj.

“I basically stormed into Target and went ‘Where’s the chocolate?!’” Colin continued as he led Raj into his room. “It was like I was going through withdrawal or something. You see what all this crazy ghost business does to me?”

Raj laughed. “I’m just glad it’s over. Well, I mean, we still need to fix your camera. But the worst of it is over.”

Colin heaved a sigh. “Guess you’re right.” He picked up a box of assorted chocolates off his dresser and offered them to Raj, then collapsed onto his bed.

Raj chose the fudge flavor, then sat down on the very edge of the bed.

“I’ll call Selena tomorrow,” said Colin.

“Okay,” Raj spoke around the chocolate on his tongue. “Thanks for the chocolate.”

“Don’t mention it,” said Colin. “Thanks for helping me cleanse my house.”

“But it didn’t work,” said Raj.

Colin shrugged. “It was still kind of fun. I couldn’t have done it alone, that’s for sure.”

Raj’s heart squirmed at the memory. It was nice, feeling appreciated, feeling needed. Just spending time alone with Colin was enough to make Raj’s head all cloudy, but the fact that he had said such nice things…it warmed him like the light of the sun. The warmth spread from his chest to his cheeks, but somewhere in that warmth was also a pricking chill. What a curse, to love someone that may never return his feelings…and yet, what a blessing.


	16. Chapter 16

Lately, Carlita had been expressing a need to go outside. She was sick of being trapped in Ryan’s apartment with a bunch of books. So Ryan told her to follow behind him, and he walked her to a small park; it was so small that it was basically a lawn with a wooden bench and a willow tree, tucked away between rows of Mom and Pop shops. A hedge adequately separated it from the rest of the world, and the only entrance was a sliver between the hedge and the wall of the adjacent shop. Perhaps it had once been a seating area for a restaurant, or a garden for a plant nursery, but now it was an isolated little patch sustained by gutter water and owned by no one.

“This is my favorite place,” said Ryan as he set his backpack down on the bench.

“Damn,” said Carlita, “How did you find this?”

“I used to walk here at night. All the little shops close down at five, so it was always the quietest part of town,” said Ryan.

“Not that Wilmington is that loud,” said Carlita.

“Sure, but this place becomes absolutely _silent_ at midnight,” said Ryan.

Carlita sat down on the bench. She took a moment to listen. “I see what you mean.”

“This place always gets way more crowded around lunch time, though. Especially on Fridays,” said Ryan. “We should probably leave before then.”

Carlita shrugged.

Wordlessly, Ryan stepped toward the willow tree and reached out his hand. He plucked one of the many drooping leaves and held it aloft. “Do you want to try taking this leaf from my hand?”

As soon as the words left his lips, Carlita began strengthening her focus on the leaf. She slowly rose from the bench and drifted toward Ryan, her hand approaching the leaf itself. Her fingers pressed together over the leaf, and with a short tug she lifted it out of Ryan’s hand. As soon as the task was completed, she let the leaf flutter to the ground.

Ryan watched the leaf, then snapped his head back up. “You did it!” he said. “It really looked like it was your hand doing the work, and not your mind! You seem almost _tangible_.”

“Not quite,” said Carlita. She reached toward Ryan’s face and pressed her hand to the side of his face. Or at least she imitated the action, because Ryan felt nothing, not even a wind or a cold chill. He tried to put his own hand over hers, but it came to rest on his own cheek.

Carlita smiled and drew her hand away. “Now what?”

“Now…” said Ryan, then he jolted into focus, “Now, I have something new to teach you!” At this, he unzipped his backpack and pulled out a packet of papers.

“Possession!” he said. “This topic is quite difficult to research from the perspective of the spirit, but I’ve studied a bunch of cases and resources and I’ve printed out the most helpful ones.”

“Aw, all for me?” Carlita teased.

“Partly yes, but I’ve also been studying this on my own for some time,” said Ryan.

“I totally would have thought you were a weirdo when I was alive,” said Carlita. “But I guess things change when you’re dead.”

Ryan responded with a grin.

“How did you get into all this ghost stuff anyway?” Carlita said as she took the papers from Ryan’s hands.

Ryan let go of the papers as if they had shocked him. “You’ve learned really quickly!” he breathed.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m smart,” said Carlita. “Now answer my question.”

Ryan glanced around the area, then turned back toward Carlita. “I used to have supernatural experiences.” His voice was quiet, the same type of quiet it had taken on before when Ryan had talked about how he met Lisa, but now it was almost reverent. “When I was ten years old, my grandmother was diagnosed with lung cancer. Only a month after her diagnosis, she died. She was sixty-one years old.”

Ryan paused. A seagull called. Then he continued.

“The night she died, I was sleeping in my bed. I had a dream that I was lying in a hospital bed, and that my vision was slowly dimming. I realized later that I was reliving her death. When I woke up, I was her sitting on the edge of my bed, her back turned toward me. But I knew it was her.”

“God…” Carlita said under her breath.

“I knew she had died, but she was still there every night for a while after her death. She began to appear less and less frequently as I became older, and eventually she just disappeared.” Ryan cleared his throat, then said even more quietly, “I’ve never told anyone this.”

“Well…that’s something,” said Carlita. “Did you ever talk to her?”

“No, and that’s one of my biggest regrets. All those years, and I never even tried…I hate to admit it, but I was afraid. What if I said something to her, but when she turned around it wasn’t her? That’s what scared me. And then sometimes I begin to think she _was_ talking to me, but I just couldn’t hear her. I don’t know, all I have are my memories. But I began to realize that I hadn’t seen her for a while when I was fourteen, and I became very afraid that I had missed a chance. She could have been coming to me all those years with a message or a task, and I failed because I was _weak_ and _afraid_. So I began diving into the occult. I learned that I had missed any opportunity with my grandmother, but I was still determined to contact the afterlife. Something about that connection I had as a child…it was frightening, but it was also _intoxicating_. There’s nothing quite like it.” At the end of his speech, Ryan stared off into the beyond, his fists clenched.

“Intoxicating, huh?” said Carlita, “Try being on the other side.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean--” Ryan began.

“Whatever,” said Carlita, “Nothing I can do now.” The stack of papers on her lap fluttered slightly. “It’s an interesting story. Creepy, but interesting.”

“…Alright,” said Ryan.

“Come on, now. Teach me how to possess people,” said Carlita.

“Okay…so if you look in the papers, I looked at a bunch of standard possessions, then researched unsuccessful exorcisms. I want to focus on those cases, because that means that whoever was in possession of the body had found ways to resist expulsion. Possession is useless if you can’t keep a hold on the body,” Ryan explained. “In fact, possession itself is fairly simple compared to keeping hold of the body.

“To possess someone, you must first identify a weakness through which you can enter. This can be either a physical or mental weakness. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to seek out weak people, it only means that you have to be stronger than whoever you possess. It also helps to possess people at vulnerable times, for instance, when they’re sleeping, or when they’re emotional.

“Once you enter through and take hold of the weakness, you can than spread your influence to other parts of the mind and body until you have completely taken over. Of course, it’s difficult to control someone for longs periods of time, because they fight back. Even if they are weaker than you, it’s difficult to sustain control with constant resistance. A lot of training is required to staunch this resistance completely.”

Carlita listened while sluggishly flipping through the possession packet. Each flip almost perfectly coincided with the movement of her hands, but a few were slightly off, which created the same effect as watching a video that paused and jumped. It was odd, to say the least. At the end of Ryan’s lecture, she looked directly into his eyes. Then she walked toward him, and _into_ him.

Ryan opened his mouth, then closed it. His eyes were wide and his fingers were curled, but he stood stock still. Then his arm raised very slowly, and his fingers flexed. Suddenly he shook his arm violently and collapsed face-first onto the ground. His whole body shook, and his breathing was ragged.

“Never… _never_ do that again!” he yelled into the earth, while holding onto the grass as if he would fly off into space if he let go. “You _cannot_ possess me, _ever_. Do you hear me?” He lifted his head tremulously from the grass, only to find Carlita standing right by his side, a contemplative look on her face.

“You were able to kick me out so fast! What a disappointment,” she said.

“Carlita!” he shouted, while scrambling onto his feet. “Answer me!”

“Okay, okay! I won’t do it again. I’m sorry,” said Carlita.

Once Ryan had received a confirmation, he took a minute to let his breathing slow down. His eyes were wild and red, but they soon grew soft. At this point he had enough presence of mind to pick off the grass blades that had become stuck to his face.

“Okay, I forgive you,” said Ryan, though he didn’t want to look at Carlita just yet.

“I won’t practice on you,” Carlita assured him. “I’ll practice on the people I hate.” Her lips curved upward. “I can’t wait!”

“Good,” said Ryan. He snatched up the packet and stuffed it into his bag, then swung the bag over his shoulder. His actions were so quick that they all seemed to be part of one motion. “I think we should go now.”

“What?” said Carlita, “But we just got here!”

“It’s…it’s going to get crowded,” said Ryan.

“You said it gets crowded at lunch. It’s like 10:30 right now,” said Carlita.

“Lunch starts early here,” said Ryan, “Now let’s go.”

As Ryan was heading for the narrow entrance, he felt a sharp tug on his backpack. He spun around to find Carlita standing there by the bench, her arms crossed.

“We’re not leaving yet,” said Carlita. “I’m sick of your apartment.”

“But…we have to go!” said Ryan.

“Why?” said Carlita.

“There’s nothing you can do about it,” said Ryan. “Remember, you’re still bound to me by the séance. You can’t leave.”

Carlita put her fingertips together and looked away from Ryan. Through tight lips, she said, “Fine then.”

Ryan gazed at her for a moment. Then he turned around and exited between the hedge and the wall. This time his backpack remained in place, while Carlita walked right behind him.

The street was sparsely populated.

Ryan kept his head ducked as if he was afraid of being recognized. His hands were dug deeply into his pockets. Every once in a while he drew a hand out of his pocket to touch his backpack, like he was afraid that it would be stolen. All his movements reflected a level of paranoia.

Carlita kept silent for a while, but when they exited the little Mom and Pop paradise she caught up with Ryan and hissed in his ear, “How am I supposed to practice possession if you won’t let me leave?”

Ryan jumped, then whirled around to face Carlita. “You scared me!”

“Well, I _am_ a ghost,” said Carlita, rolling her eyes.

“You can’t practice possession on _me_ ,” said Ryan.

“I know. That’s why I’m asking,” said Carlita.

“I’ll find a way, okay?” said Ryan. He then continued walking home.

Carlita kept in stride beside him. “You mean you’re _really_ not going to let me leave?”

“I can’t. I don’t know that I could summon you again,” said Ryan.

“So I’m basically your prisoner?” Carlita spat.

“No! Not at all! You’re my guest,” said Ryan. “I promise I’ll find people for you to possess, alright?”

“Oh, really? Because I never see you go outside or talk to people,” said Carlita.

“I will,” he said.

“Tell me your plan,” said Carlita. “I need to know how you’ll accomplish this.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Ryan, his tone becoming increasingly agitated.

“I don’t have a lot of time, you know,” said Carlita. “Have you forgotten that I’m going to be dragged down to Hell if I don’t complete my task by Saturday? And clearly completing my task is out the window. I’m relying on you to teach me to be powerful enough that I can become Queen of Hell or something, and I can’t get there by lounging around your apartment.”

“Then what do you suggest?” said Aiden, annoyed.

“Oh, I don’t know…Trust me? Let me go? Or at the very least, go to one of Nick Ramsey’s parties so I can possess someone there,” said Carlita.

The two of them halted at a crosswalk. Ryan jabbed the crosswalk button, then stuffed his hands back into his pockets. “I can’t do that. I’m not in high school anymore.”

“What the hell do you mean?” said Carlita.

“They’ll know I’m not in high school. They won’t allow me into the party.”

The light changed, and they stepped off the curb onto the street.

“What kind of party do you think this is? Some club with bouncers?” said Carlita, “And nobody is going to care that you’re…how old are you?”

“Twenty.”

“Twenty,” Carlita continued. “You won’t be the first twenty-something to crash a high school party. Besides, who do you think supplies the drinks? Usually it’s some kid’s twenty one year old brother or sister, or somebody’s college friends. Don’t be so paranoid.”

“I’ll think about it,” Ryan said quietly.

“Fine. I guess that’s the best I can get out of you,” said Carlita.

“But maybe you’re not ready for possession yet,” said Ryan.

Carlita’s mouth opened, then closed. “What?” she finally said.

“I think you need more practice with moving objects,” said Ryan.

“But you _told_ me that I was ready for possession,” said Carlita.

“I think I was just excited…I was getting ahead of myself,” said Ryan. “Yes, you have great skill at maneuvering objects, but that was just a leaf. I still don’t know if you can lift heavy objects, or if you can crush objects. I could have you practice crushing an apple.”

“Are you shitting me?” said Carlita. “I practiced all day yesterday, and now you want to throw it away so I can help you make apple sauce? Hell no!”

“It’s important,” said Ryan.

Carlita stopped short and crossed her arms. “I’m staying here, then.”

Ryan paused for a moment to stare at her, then walked onward.

When he was ten feet away, Carlita’s entire body was forcefully lifted from the ground and pulled toward Ryan. It was as if she was being pushed forward by an invisible bubble enclosing Ryan. Carlita tried to dig her heels into the ground, but to no avail. The power of Ryan’s original summons kept her trapped within a certain distance of him.

“Stop walking!” she screamed.

Ryan halted, and turned around.

They glared at each other like two cowboys out of a Spaghetti Western.

“Fine, okay?” said Carlita. “Fine. I’ll crush your stupid apples. I’ll do it to prove to you that I’m trustworthy. But then you have to let me go so I can try possessing people. You have to promise.”

Ryan inhaled, then exhaled. “I promise.”


	17. Chapter 17

Most of Raj’s day had been wasted watching TV. His discipline dwindled when he didn’t have the routine of school to keep him on the straight and narrow. But after a few hours of I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant, he was feeling quite useless. He then decided to spend the rest of the day being useful.

  First he picked up his sister from school. She usually walked home, so he wanted to make her day easier by giving her a lift. Her gratitude made up for a lot of the time he’d wasted on reality TV.

  Next, Raj cleaned his room. It wasn’t very messy to begin with, but he had a few things that needed organizing, like his clothes and his desk. To better economize space he tried moving his bed, then his desk, then his dresser. By the end of the ordeal his room was still in some disarray, but of a different sort that before, and at least he now knew where everything was.

  By then dinner was drawing near, so Raj decided to make spaghetti as a nice surprise for his parents. While the spaghetti was boiling he prepared some salad and set the table. In the center of the table he put a candle. The effect was nice, even though it was a mosquito candle. Someday he would have to go out and buy a scented candle for the family just to break up all the mosquito candles.

  When Raj’s parents came home at last, they were very impressed. The spaghetti came out perfectly, and everyone was happy. By then Raj felt he had redeemed himself from all the time he had wasted. Everything was chatter and laughter. It was the best family dinner in ages.

  Then Anushka said, “Mom, Dad, I have something to tell you.”

  For one crazy moment, Raj thought, _What if Anushka is gay, too? I don’t know if our parents can handle_ _having_ two _in the family._

  “I want to be a dancer when I grow up,” said Anushka.

  “A dancer?” said Malarvizhi. “Anushka, you’re only fourteen. You have plenty of time to think about this.”

  Ganan nodded.

  _Oh_ , thought Raj. _Well, there it is_.

  “I don’t have to think because I know,” said Anushka. “I love dancing, and I’m really good at it.”

  “A Bharatanatyam dancer?” said Malarvizhi. “But that’s so specific! You can’t make a living off of that.”

  “That’s why I want to start enrolling for more dance classes,” said Anushka. “I have to start now if I want to be really good.”

  “Even then, being a dancer is such a hard career! Work is very sparse. You will grow to hate dancing if you make it your career. Wouldn’t you rather keep it as a hobby and be a doctor?” said Malarvizhi.

  “No! I hate all that medical stuff!” said Malarvizhi. “I know I can do it, Mom. And Dad.”

  “But Anushka! Don’t you know what some of those dancers have to do when they can’t find work?” Malarvizhi dropped her voice. “They become _strippers_.”

  Raj’s Mom had just crossed a point of no return. If anything was going to start a fight, it was this.

  “Oh my God, Mom! I’m not going to become a stripper! Not all dancers are strippers!” Anushka fired back.

  “I work at a college, Anushka, and I’ve seen what happens in those college dance classes. The dances they teach them are often _very_ suggestive!” said Malarvizhi.

  “How could you say that?” said Anushka. “Dad! Won’t you help me out?”

  Ganan looked back and forth between the expectant faces of Anushka and Malarvizhi. “Well, Anushka, you have to be realistic. Being a successful dancer is very difficult. But Malarvizhi, I don’t think that it’s fair to tell her she’ll become a stripper.”

  “Unfair!” said Malarvizhi, “What’s really unfair is all those poor girls who are forced to work in the sex trade because they couldn’t find a decent job!”

  Time to get out. And dinner had been going so well. Raj excused himself from the table, and this time his family was so embroiled in their argument that they didn’t even notice his departure. He thought he would be safe in his room, but he could even hear their voices through the walls. An argument of this nature would definitely be going on for a while, and Raj really didn’t want to suffer through it. Besides, though they hadn’t noticed him leave the table, there was every possibility that his family could still rope him into the argument. Taking sides was the last thing he wanted to do. So he called Colin.

  “What’s up?” said Colin.

  “Hi. My sister just told my parents that she wants to be a dancer and it isn’t going over very well. Do you mind if I come over?” asked Raj.

  “Wow. That bad?” said Colin.

  “I’m hoping they’ll work it out,” said Colin. “But it looks like it’s going to take a while. I’d rather be somewhere else while they’re arguing.”

  “Okay. I’m home right now, so come over whenever you want,” said Colin.

  “Thank you very much,” said Raj.

  “Oh, and I have a surprise for when you come over,” said Colin.

  A surprise? Raj’s mind jumped to a card, a confession. He knew it was crazy, but it still made his mouth a little drier.

  “Okay,” Raj replied. “See you soon.”

  “Bye,” said Colin.

  Once he’d ended the call, Raj picked his keys off of their new place on the dresser and opened the door as quietly as he could. With the door opened, the voices were amplified. Anushka was currently trying to convince Malarvizhi with a success story from the dancing career. Good. Well, bad, but good in that the loud voices would drown out any noise he made, especially the sound of the car engine. He snuck out the front door and successfully made it to the minivan. Once inside, he turned on the radio. The smooth voices were a wonderful contrast to the edgy voices inside his home. A jazz song began, and Raj pulled out of the driveway.

  As he drove, however, Raj thought again of his initial impression of Anushka’s announcement. So she wasn’t gay…but he still was. And he would have to tell his parents someday. Since they never really spoke about gay people, he didn’t quite know their impression of them. Maybe he could ask about that first before easing into his own confession. In any case, he believed that his parents would accept him as long as he told them in the right way. The trouble was thinking of the right way.

  Of course, he hadn’t had much practice. Not even Raj’s closest friends knew. He trusted them, but he was still afraid. It was North Carolina, for God’s sake. He’d learned in sex ed that the best way to avoid STDs was to be married and heterosexual. Gay people were only mentioned in the context of HIV, as if they themselves were the disease. The whole experience chilled him. Perhaps it was cowardly, but he tried his best to not think of these things. It only stressed him out.

  Raj breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Colin’s driveway. As long as he was with Colin, he could focus on more pleasant things. He pulled up next to their house and turned the car off, causing the radio to go silent. He hummed where the song left off, and he was still humming as he rang the doorbell.

  The door opened, revealing Colin’s mom, who had a glass of wine in her other hand.

  “Hello, Raj! Come in!” she said. “Colin’s dad and I were just settling down for a movie. Thank God it’s Friday, right?” She laughed.

  “Yep,” said Raj.

  “Colin’s in his room, but if either of you want to watch the movie we’ll be right here. We’re watching Dirty _Dancing_ ,” said Colin’s mom.

  “Okay. Thanks, Mrs. Young,” said Raj.

  The path to Colin’s room was very familiar. He’d walked it hundreds of times during the course of their friendship. He knocked on Colin’s door to alert him of his presence.

  “Yes?” said Colin.

  “It’s me,” said Raj.

  “Come in!”

  Raj opened the door a crack. “Your parents are watching _Dirty Dancing_.”

  “I’ve already seen it,” said Colin. He was sitting at his computer, editing a video.

  Raj stepped inside and closed the door behind him. “So…you said you had a surprise?” Raj hoped he didn’t sound too eager.

  “Yes!” said Colin. He pointed to the camera lying on his desk. “The camera’s fixed!”

  “Wow! That’s great! Did Selena help you?” asked Raj.

  “She came by earlier. But that’s not all,” said Colin.

  Raj’s heart thumped.

  “Have you checked my videos at all since I uploaded them on Wednesday?” asked Colin.

  “No,” said Raj.

  “Look,” Colin said. He minimized the editing studio to reveal his YouTube channel. He clicked on Videos, and beckoned Raj to come closer. Once Raj was beside him, he pointed at the most recent videos.

  Raj first noticed that Colin had uploaded the creepy video with all of their friends, and then he noticed how many views it had.

  “600,000 views!” Raj exclaimed.

  Colin shook his head. “Just because it’s about ghosts. People are so predictable.”

  “But that’s amazing! Are they watching your other videos, too?” Raj asked.

  “Kind of,” said Colin, “But they have nowhere near the amount of views as the latest video. Well, except for the latest Crazy Pig video. That’s got 100,000 views, probably because of the title. People sure love ghosts.

  “Have you gained any subscribers?” said Raj.

  “Yeah. I’ve got about 2,000 subscribers now. I bet a lot of them subscribed and dashed,” said Colin.

  “You should stop minimizing your accomplishments, and you should celebrate!” said Raj. “This is a big boost to your channel.”

  “But all these people want ghost stuff,” said Colin.

  “Maybe they’ll stay for your talent,” said Raj.

  Colin shrugged. “Eh…nothing I can do about it. And I guess it can’t hurt.”

  “Exactly,” said Raj.

  “So that’s my surprise. Now I wanna hear about what’s going down with Anushka.” Colin stood up and moved over to the bed, where he plunked down onto the covers. “Take a seat.”

  Raj took his usual seat at the farthest edge of Colin’s bed. “So, Anushka…I think she’s really good at dancing, and she loves it. So I support her.”

  “Aw, sibling love,” Colin commented.

  “I just didn’t want to get between her and my mom,” Raj continued. “The middle ground doesn’t work either. My dad seems like he’s trying to take the middle ground, and he’s just making both of them angry.”

  “Oh, man, a dancer…” said Colin.

  “What?” said Raj, slightly defensively.

  “Nothing. It’s just big news,” said Colin.

  “That’s for sure,” said Raj. “So now I just wait it out.”

  “So you think things will work out?” said Colin.

  “Eventually, yes,” said Raj. “Anushka is very strong-willed. Much more strong-willed than I was at her age. She can also be very persuasive. My mom is hard to persuade, but if anyone can do it, it’s Anushka. I mean, she was sort of building up to this confrontation all week, so she probably has a prepared argument.”

  “Smart,” said Colin.

  “Maybe now my mom will be more prepared to hear that I want to do movie tech,” said Raj. “That’s definitely not as shocking as wanting to be a dancer.”

  “Wait,” said Colin. “So you really want to do that as a career?”

  “Well, yeah,” said Raj. “Don’t you want to be a director?”

  “Or a screenwriter,” said Colin. “Yes.”

  “Oh, good,” said Raj. “That means you can hire me when you become successful.”

  “If I can afford you,” said Colin. “You’ll probably become the most in-demand editor or special effects guy or whatever it is you want to do.”

  “It’s hard to choose,” said Raj.

  Colin leaned back against the wall next to his bed, then slowly slid down the wall. “Man, maybe we could even go to the same college.”

  “Oh. I haven’t even started thinking of college,” Raj realized.

  “The best film school is USC,” Colin explained.

  “I’ve heard that’s pretty expensive,” said Raj.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Colin said, waving him off, “But we’re dreaming here.”

  The conversation soon turned into a discussion of colleges and majors, as is bound to happen with two high school juniors who are on the cusp of their senior year. Lisa’s Julliard aspirations were mentioned, while Selena’s career of choice was debated. Raj thought she was going to become a set designer, while Colin believed she was going to become an avant-garde artist. In any case, it had to be something abnormal.

  Inevitably, the conversation turned to movies. Like he’d said a million times before, Colin stated that his favorite movie was _Heathers_ , and he went on about just how much he loved that beautiful-on-the-surface-but-horrid-underneath vibe.

  “ _Carrie_ captures that pretty well. The original version, at least. I can’t say whether the new versions have it because I haven’t seen them,” Colin went on. “But that reminds me. The other day I was thinking that Carlita sounds kind of like Carrie. And it sort of matches up, but in an inverse way. Carrie’s the unpopular girl who’s the only survivor of the prom, while Carlita’s the popular girl who died on prom night.”

  “I don’t know if you can really compare movies to real life,” said Raj. “Real life isn’t so symbolic.”

  “Sure you can. And sure it is!” Colin responded. “Movies are inspired by real life, and vice versa. It’s a constant back and forth of ideas.”

  “Well, sure,” said Raj. “But I mean that you can’t really put Carlita’s death in the frame of a movie. In a movie, death can be funny or moralistic. But in real life it’s just depressing.”

  “I don’t know. I thought it was kind of funny,” said Colin.

  “Don’t say that…” said Raj. “Please.”

  Raj must have looked pretty upset, because Colin swiftly apologized. “Sorry. I don’t wanna sound heartless. But does that mean you still feel bad for her?”

  Though Raj had been sitting comfortably upright on the edge of Colin’s bed for some time, he now began to feel stiff. He shifted to lean against the wall, but he was still uncomfortable. “I don’t know,” he replied.

  “Don’t forget what she tried to make you do, Raj,” Colin said lightly.

  “But… _Hell_ , Colin. I’m basically solely responsible for sending her to Hell.”

  Colin folded his hands over his stomach and looked at Colin. “But it’s not really your fault.” He leaned toward Raj and pointed upwards. “Some higher power arbitrarily assigned Carlita to you. It should be their job, but they threw the task onto some random human. They don’t realize how much pressure that is, whoever they are. Honestly, this whole thing is ridiculous.”

  “But I don’t think it _is_ random,” said Raj. “I was assigned because I’m supposed to be capable.”

  Colin was shaking his head. “Remember, it’s supposed to be Carlita’s redemption. She didn’t redeem herself, so _she_ was the one who failed.”

  “I didn’t really give her much chance, though, did I?” Raj mumbled.

  “Aw man. Are you gonna be depressed about this forever?” Colin asked.

  Raj sighed. “Maybe.”

  “Well, that’s your choice,” said Colin. “But I’m just saying that I don’t think you did anything wrong. Not even Heaven can force you to date people you don’t want to date.”

  Raj laced his hands together. His neck was feeling increasingly uncomfortable against the wall, so he pushed his back up against it. “That worries me too. Because what if Heaven _does_ decide who you end up with? Maybe I’m slated to end up with Dakota. Maybe I’ll end up marrying her, but Carlita will still be in Hell because it didn’t happen within the time limit.”

  “What?” said Colin as he lifted himself up and lowered his eyebrows at Raj. “No! You don’t even like Dakota, do you?”

  “She’s alright…she’s kind of self-centered,” said Raj.

  “You don’t like her,” said Colin.

  “She could change,” said Raj with a shrug.

  “Come on. There’s no such thing as destiny, alright?” said Colin.

  Raj didn’t respond; he only continued to stare at his own hands.

  Colin shook Raj’s shoulder. “Alright?”

  At that moment, Raj believed Colin. He lifted his eyes to meet Colin’s, and the air suddenly felt thick. So thick that he couldn’t swallow it. “You’re right,” he managed to say. “I don’t really like Dakota.”

By which Raj meant I like _you_. And in that moment, Raj felt that maybe Colin had received his message. It was a feeling beyond the fleeting hope he usually felt. Hope was light, but the air was heavy. Colin’s hand was heavy, resting there on Raj’s shoulder. Raj’s gut was heavy, his resolve was heavy. He didn’t dare break his gaze with Colin.

Colin smiled. “Good,” he said. Then Colin took his hand away from Raj’s shoulder, and glanced away.

Raj’s focus had been so intense that he slightly leaned toward Colin as Colin turned away. It was as if the direction of Colin’s line of sight pulled Raj’s eyes along, which pulled his head, which pulled his whole body. Raj blinked, and the moment’s connection was gone. To Raj, the moment was gripping enough to have invaded all his thoughts. But to Colin…it must have been nothing.

“Thank you,” said Raj, his tone slightly nervous. “I was being stupid.”

“No you weren’t,” said Colin. “You’re right to be anxious when all these unnatural forces are messing with you.”

Raj made a steeple out his fingers, then closed both hands into fists. “How are you so smart? And calm?”

Colin shrugged. “I’m just good at faking it.”

“Don’t minimize your accomplishments,” said Raj.

“What, you want me to be a braggart?” said Colin. “God, I’m thirsty.”

“Oh. How long have we been talking?” asked Raj.

Colin rolled forward from the wall to pick his phone up off his desk. “Uh, let’s see…It’s 9:40, so almost an hour.”

“Wow! No wonder you’re thirsty,” said Raj.

“I’ll get us some water,” said Colin, while checking for any messages.

As Colin stared at his phone, Raj was reminded of something else. “Uh, okay,” he replied, “And…I think I forgot my phone. Do you think my mom could have tried to call me? I didn’t even tell her where I went…”

“It’s possible,” said Colin. He stood up from the bed and stretched his arms.

Did it even matter if Raj’s mom had called him? Anushka was right, their parents were always out. So he should at least be able to stay at a friend’s house for an hour or two. After he finished drinking the water--no, after Colin’s parents finished _Dirty Dancing_ , he would go home.

“Raj?” said Colin.

Raj’s eyes sprung up to Colin’s. He still felt a flare of the intensity the two of them had seemed to share a moment ago. It lingered there, lining his heart. “Yes?”

“Don’t worry, okay? You’ll be fine,” said Colin.

Like slow motion, Colin’s hand approached Raj’s face.

Raj blinked--or was it a flinch?

Colin’s fingers combed through Raj’s hair, then back again. Then he turned around and left the room. Oh…a hair ruffle. Just a friendly hair tousling. Peppy eighties music emanated from the door that Colin had left ajar. _Dirty Dancing_.

Raj just sat there reliving the shadow that Colin’s hand had cast over his face.


	18. Chapter 18

_My God, I’m way too obsessed_ , thought Raj as he drove home. _I have to reel it in. Just friends._

He shook his head, and slapped his cheek. As if that would help. No, he would just have to do what he always did…ignore the problem. Think of diversions. But his mind could only jump from one stressful topic to another. Anushka’s announcement, Carlita’s task, Dakota. Colin had done a lot to convince him that he and Dakota weren’t star-crossed lovers, but Hell still occupied his mind. Colin was right…he _was_ going to be depressed forever. This thought was yet another load on his mind. A very large load, as his entire future now looked a shade darker. He couldn’t see how he could just forget Carlita, or her suffering. This whole experience would stay with him for the rest of his days, and in the dark corners he would see hellfire, always.

Although Colin had cheered him up for a short time, he pulled up beside his house feeling a great deal bleaker than he had when he’d pulled away. When he’d left his house, he’d only felt frustrated. He really hoped that Anushka and his parents had finished by now, as he was completely unprepared to deal with any more negativity.

Thankfully, the house was quiet. The porch lights were on, but inside it was dark and still. Perfect, Raj thought. At last he could relax. With soft steps, he approached his room. His expert hands pried open the doorknob with the least amount of noise, and he successfully infiltrated his own room. He quietly deposited the car keys onto his dresser, then stole away to the bathroom, where he could brush his teeth.

But the bathroom mirror brought back dark thoughts all over again. He imagined seeing a glint in the mirror, or watching Carlita crawl out of the mirror. It didn’t help that his own eyes looked like sockets, as he hadn’t turned the bathroom light on. _In Hell_ , he thought, _your eyes are plucked out of your head daily. You’re chained to a rock, and the manacles are lined with spikes on the inside, and you have to stand on a hot griddle._

He flipped the light on, but it didn’t drive away the dark thoughts.

Once finished, he went back to his room and lied down in his bed, still in his day clothes. Would every day be like this? Would every action be seen through the fiery filter of Hell? Raj didn’t know if he could deal with this. His guilt hadn’t lessened since he’d cut off Carlita--it was only becoming worse every day.

 _Hell forever_. _For me_ and _Carlita,_ thought Raj. _It’s not just her punishment, but my punishment, too. Even if I go to Heaven, I’ll still be thinking of Hell. Eternal damnation._

Raj began to sweat. He dug his palms into his eyes as he tossed and turned. Roll to the left. Eternity. Curl up in a ball. Fire. Roll to the right. Whips. The images kept on coming, pouring over him like boiling grease, seeping into his eyes and ears.

Suddenly, he sat bolt upright. “Carlita!” he called. “Where are you?”

And there she was. She sat at the edge of his bed, facing away from him.

“Carlita?” he whispered.

She turned around, and when she laid eyes on him, she smiled. “Hi, Raj Kukuri.”

Now that she was here, he couldn’t quite think of what to say to her. It was too late to help her…and how could he apologize for practically sending her to Hell? He had to say _something_ , though. _Anything_.

“I…I…I’m so sorry, Carlita,” said Raj.

“I’m not,” said Carlita.

And before Raj could begin to register her reply, she rushed toward him. So close…and then…his body began to stiffen. Suddenly he felt extremely nauseous. His head and chest felt superheated, like he had a terrible fever. His vision was swimming, so he tried to steady his head by resting it in his hands. But his hands wouldn’t move. Was he dreaming? Or was he dying?

Wait, his hand was moving toward him now. It was just a delayed reaction. But then it began to turn, and his fingers flexed, like he was scrutinizing his own hand.

“Weird,” he heard his own mouth say.

And as his hand turned before him, he slowly began to realize what happened. The hand began to tremble. His other hand attempted to grab it to steady it, but the trembling wouldn’t stop.

“Stop it,” he heard himself whisper angrily.

But the trembling continued on.

“Whatever,” Carlita said out of his mouth. “Now where are your car keys?”

He saw his hands rifling through his things, but he was still in disbelief. There was his hand picking up the keys from the dresser. There were his legs walking toward the front door. He could still feel everything--each step on the ground, each touch of his fingers--he just couldn’t control it. Exactly like a puppet, but this was no farce.

Like some sort of strange, first-person film, he watched himself drive all the way to some nondescript apartment complex. The whole street was lined with identical apartment buildings, all of which were completely dark. Carlita parked his car in front of one of the buildings, then headed for the stairs. As they climbed the steps, Raj grew increasingly more afraid. But the only way his feelings manifested was in the trembling of his hands. They trembled as Carlita balled one of them into a fist, and knocked on a door marked 202.

The response was silence.

Carlita knocked again, this time more urgently. When the silence continued, she increased the volume of her knocking.

Finally, the door opened a sliver. All that was visible was an eye, and a soft, male voice said, “Hello? Who is it?”

“Ryan, it’s me,” said Carlita.

“I don’t know you,” said the eye.

“It’s Carlita,” she continued. “I did it.”

“Carlita?” the eye whispered. “Is it really you?”

“I used your name, didn’t I? And this guy doesn’t even know your real name,” said Carlita.

“Oh my God…You did it!” The man swung open the door excitedly.

Aiden? _Aiden?_ But that made no sense…How could this be? Carlita walked Raj’s body into the apartment, and the more Raj saw of the man, the more he was certain that it was indeed Aiden. Except his name wasn’t Aiden, apparently. Aiden, or Ryan, or whoever it was, closed the door behind Carlita after she had stepped inside.

“Carlita, you just disappeared! I was so afraid…I thought that you might have been sucked down into Hell,” said Aiden as he led Carlita over to the sofa. “Do…do you want to sit down?”

“No…I feel great! It feels so amazing to have a body again.” She observed Raj’s hand once more. “Even if it doesn’t match up to my former body.”

“You look great,” said Ryan. “But how did you do it?”

“This idiot called me. I guess his summons overpowered yours,” said Carlita. “But I came back, you see? You can trust me! So you don’t have to do another séance, okay?”

“I believe you,” said Ryan, his eyes full of wonder.

“I knew I could do it,” said Carlita. “I knew I could possess someone.”

“You were right,” said Ryan.

“This is ten times better than turning pages or crushing apples,” said Carlita. She picked a book randomly from the floor, then flipped it open. “See? Turned a page.” She tossed it back to the floor, then approached the couch and ran Raj’s fingers over it. It was cheap leather, slightly dusty. “So this is what the couch feels like.” Then she moved his hands over the wall, which was plaster, and slightly cold to the touch. “And the wall. God, I didn’t realize how much I miss touching things!”

She whirled around to face Ryan, who smiled softly. Like she had done on their visit to the park, she brought her hand to the side of his face. This time she made contact, and this time when he put his hand up to cover hers he didn’t end up touching his own face.

“You’re trembling,” said Ryan.

“It’s not me, it’s him,” said Carlita. “He’s afraid. But don’t worry, soon I’ll learn how to take over everything, even instinct.”

“Wonderful,” said Ryan. He stroked her hand with his thumb, then reached out his other hand to touch her face. “I can finally touch you. I can’t believe it.”

“Sort of,” said Carlita. “Just look into my eyes. That’s where I am.”

“I see you,” Ryan breathed.

Carlita smiled as she looked Ryan up and down. Then she began to move her face toward Ryan’s, while plunging Raj’s hand into Ryan’s hair. No, this could not be happening. This could not be his first kiss. He wanted to shut out the experience, but he could still feel everything. The hot breath on his cheek, the softness of Aiden’s…Ryan’s...lips. He tried to focus on his trembling hands, the only place where he still had a bit of a physical presence, but even then one hand still had a fistful of Ryan’s hair, and the other was wrapped around Ryan’s back. And then he could not help thinking of Ryan’s hands either. They were both clutching onto the sides of his face, and he hated it, absolutely hated it. Yes, he was afraid, but now he was inundated by a deep sadness as well; yet he couldn’t will his body to let loose even a single tear.

In his head, he was running around the room, kicking books out of the way and knocking everything over. He wanted to tear himself out of his body. He wanted to die. This was no existence. What if Carlita had control over him for the rest of his life? She would hurt his family and his friends. His family…He didn’t want his last day with his family to be this one, where he had run off to avoid them. _Anushka…Mom…Dad…_ he thought. _Please, I want to die. I don’t want her to hurt you. I have to die._ And still his hands trembled. And still they trailed up and down Ryan’s back, while his mouth trailed down Ryan’s jawline.

Finally, Carlita drew back, though her arms were still wrapped around him. “Listen. I have work to do. There’s still more people I need to possess.”

Ryan nodded.

“Do you have anything you could use to tie him up?” she asked.

“I could use my bed sheets,” said Ryan.

“Good. Once you tie him up I’ll leave his body. You have to stay here and watch him. I don’t want him running off to his friends,” said Carlita.

Soon all of Carlita’s commands were carried out. Raj’s wrists and ankles were tied tightly together, and he was seated with his back against the corner of the room.

“Hello, Kukuri. I’ve got something to tell you,” said Carlita.

The trembling in his hands began again in earnest.

“Stop it!” Carlita yelled. She threw his elbow against the wall, and pain shot up his arm, while his bone buzzed from the impact.

“Okay. Now. I’m going out to possess everyone who ever betrayed me, and I’m going to kill them. I’m going to start with your dear friend Lisa Summers. I’m saving you for last, because I might still need your body and your car after I kill the rest. But that won’t save you for long. You’re going to die very soon, Kukuri, because you failed me. I’m going to make your death very painful. Maybe I’ll set a fire and jump into it, then leave your body to burn. I don’t know, I’m still considering different options. Think that over while I’m gone.”

Raj’s body heaved forward, and his hair stood on end. Without Carlita holding him up, he collapsed onto the floor and began breathing raggedly. His hands were still trembling. He lifted them, and discovered that they were his own hands once again. But not quite. He was still trapped. Maybe he could move his hands, but they were limited by the sheet tied around his wrists.

The next thing Raj knew, he felt a hard edge crash into his side. Ryan had kicked him.

“Get up,” he spat.

Raj rolled back up into a seated position, then stared Ryan in the face.

“Did you hear that, scum?” Ryan said gleefully. “You’re going to die.”

 _Good_ , thought Raj.


	19. Chapter 19

It was 11:30pm. Lisa Summers was still awake. She was editing a song that she had recorded. Her headphones were on, and her attention was completely occupied by the computer screen before her. The lights in her room were off, so that she wouldn’t disturb her parents. Her face was a blue glow in the middle of a dark room.

    A figure approached her room; a figure that she had the ability to see, but she didn’t see it now. It passed through the outside wall and into her room, and soon it was standing right behind her. The figure reached out its intangible hand, and Lisa slumped forward.

    Almost immediately after she had slumped forward, Lisa leaped up, sending her chair flying backwards. She spun violently around, then collapsed onto her knees, breathing hard. It was then that she spotted Carlita fleeing from her room, which confirmed her suspicions.

    “Carlita!” she yelled. “Come back here!”

    But the ghost had already spirited away.

    Lisa stood looking out the window for a few seconds, then paced swiftly toward her desk. She snatched her phone up and dialed Raj’s number. Her other hand was tapping on the desk at a fevered pace as she waited for Raj to pick up. But all she reached was his voicemail.

    “Raj, you might be asleep right now, but something just happened that I think you should know about. Carlita just tried to possess me. I was able to fight her off, but I think she’s up to something. Please, please, call back as soon as you get this.”

    When she finished her message, Lisa pushed herself away from the desk and began to pace the room. Every couple of seconds she checked for a message, but to no avail. After two minutes had passed, she tried to call again. Once more, she could only reach Raj’s voicemail. Next, she called up Selena, and this time she got a response.

    “Lisa?” said Selena.

    “Thank God I reached you!” said Lisa.

    “What’s the matter?” asked Selena.

    “Carlita just tried to possess me!” said Lisa.

    “What?” Selena cried. “Are you okay?”

    “I’m fine,” said Lisa. “Thanks to Amber, I’m pretty good at resisting possession.”

    “This is crazy!” said Selena.

    “I know,” Lisa replied. “I think Carlita might be lashing out, since her time is almost up.”

    “What a bitch…” said Selena.

    “I’m really worried that she might hurt somebody,” said Lisa. “We have to do another séance. That way we can hold her in one place until her time is up.”

    “Okay,” Selena said. “We can go to Raj’s house and summon her with the crown again.”

    “That’s the thing,” said Lisa. “I just tried to call him, but he’s not answering.”

    “Maybe he’s asleep and his phone is off,” Selena suggested.

    “But he’s still open to attack. Carlita hated him, remember?” said Lisa.

    “What should we do?” said Selena, an edge of fear creeping into her voice.

    “We’ve got to check on him. I’ll call Colin, so he can pick us up. You grab all your official séance equipment. We’ll go to his house and knock on his window, then we’ll do the séance outside. Does that sound good?”

    “Perfect. Let’s hurry.”


	20. Chapter 20

It was 11:35pm. Dakota Tandy was still awake. She was in her house’s upstairs bathroom, putting on makeup. Her mascara was only half-finished when she dropped the brush and stared into the mirror, wide eyed. She swiveled around and marched out the door. Her eyes whipped back and forth, searching, then they fixed on the stairs, which led down into the darkness of the first floor. She smiled.

    “Hello, Dakota. It’s me, Carlita. You betrayed me, and you used my death for your own gain. For that I think you deserve to die. Right now. Goodbye.”

    She took a few steps backward, then sprinted toward the stairway. At the top of the stairs she threw her body forward so that her head would be the first thing to make contact with the hardwood floor below. Just before impact, Dakota’s expression turned from a warped smile into pure terror. Then there was a loud snap.

    It was 11:38pm. Paisley Capobianco was still awake. She was at Nick’s party, and she was currently looking at her watch. So far the party was just a small crowd gathered outside by the pool. Cool people like Dakota Tandy could afford to be fashionably late while their friends waited impatiently for them. One moment, Paisley was tapping her foot, the next moment she was heading for Nick’s screen door. She pulled it open and headed for Nick’s kitchen. Once at the counter, she scrutinized the different options. Knives, plastic bags, drain cleaner…all viable options. She opened a random cabinet, which just so happened to be the medicine cabinet. Here she stopped, and after searching through the various bottles she found just exactly what she had been looking for: sleeping pills.

    With the sleeping pills in her hand, she ascended the stairs up to Nick’s room. Paisley’s body slowly approached Nick’s bed, then she turned around and sat down.

    “Hi Paisley. It’s Carlita,” she whispered. “Comfortable?”

    She slid back even further until her back was resting against the headboard. “There, perfect. Won’t it be a nasty surprise when some horny teenagers burst in here looking for a bed, only to discover your body? I imagine it will ruin the mood. But you’ll look like a regular Sleeping Beauty, Paisley. I’m doing this because you betrayed me, like Dakota. She’s dead, too. Now it’s your turn. Goodbye.”

    Paisley’s hand unscrewed the cap to the pill bottle. Then she dumped the contents of the bottle into her mouth. They couldn’t all go down at once, but Carlita made sure that Paisley swallowed every last one. For a while she stayed and waited. Fifteen minutes passed, and Paisley’s eyes began to flutter. Then they suddenly went wide, and she tried to move, but her head drooped back again.

    It was 11:54pm. Nick Ramsey was still awake. He was stooping over the beer cooler to grab a drink. When he straightened back up, he threw the beer directly back into the cooler. He made an about face and started heading for the back gate.

    “Hey, Nick, where are you going?” someone called.

    “Just getting some more snacks,” Nick said without turning around.

    “Cool. Get me some Combos,” the guy called after Nick.

    Nick’s hand clutched at the lanyard that hung around his neck. His fingers slid down the lanyard and bumped against his car keys. He removed the lanyard as he approached the car in his driveway. Once he entered the car and started the engine, he threw the keys into the back seat.

    “Won’t be needing those again,” said Carlita.

    She took a moment to look at her hand. No trembling. Then she placed it onto the steering wheel.

    Soon she was speeding down a dark, empty road. She turned the radio all the way up until the sound of rock and roll was nearly shattering the car windows. A laugh erupted from Nick’s body.

    After a bit of joy riding, she turned the radio down so her voice could be heard. “Hello, Nick. As you may have guessed, it’s me, Carlita. Remember how you abandoned me on Prom Night? For Lisa? And then you didn’t even go to Prom with her? I really couldn’t care less about who you go out with, but it’s the _principal_ of it, you see. You crossed me, and now you’re going to die.”

    At that moment she unbuckled Nick’s seatbelt. She stepped on the gas, and kept her eyes on the side of the road. Her eyes alighted upon a good, solid tree, which was coming up fast on her right. She swerved toward it, and just before impact Nick closed his eyes tightly. Then there was a loud crash, accented by the sound of shattering glass.


	21. Chapter 21

After Carlita had left, Ryan shoved Raj around for a good five minutes, ending each blow with an insult. Raj said nothing, only trying to cover his face. There was a moment where Ryan tore Raj’s hands away and slapped him across the face. But soon Ryan grew tired of his non-active plaything and left to read on the couch.

    Raj lay shivering on the ground. The beating may have been painful, but he still preferred it to being felt up by Ryan. The mere thought of it curdled his heart. But this, too, was nothing to the pain he felt when he thought of Lisa. Could she be dead already? No…impossible. Not Lisa.

    Now that Carlita had left his body, he was slightly less worried about his family. Since they hadn’t wronged her, they weren’t in line with her warpath. And as long as Carlita intended to kill him, she couldn’t use his body to manipulate his family. Then again, his death would absolutely flatten his family. Before, he had only thought about his family’s bodily safety, but what about their emotional safety? He couldn’t do that to his mom, not after everything she had done for him. His dad, too. And Anushka…she didn’t express it often, but he knew she admired him. Despite everything, it was the thought of his family that at last drew a tear from Raj’s eye. They would be so disappointed if he gave up on life. He had to go on living, for them.

    Besides, if he could stay alive, maybe there was still time to save Lisa.

    “Carlita?” he whispered as quietly as he could.

    Ryan didn’t look up.

    But Carlita didn’t appear. He should have known that trying to summon her wouldn’t work anymore. She had grown far more powerful since he had last encountered her. That was back when Carlita could be summoned with a couple mosquito candles and some bath bombs.

    Raj shifted position so he could look around the room. Could he just get up and rush Ryan? No…Raj’s binds meant it would be more a bunny hop than a charge, and Ryan would take him out in an instant. Maybe he could face toward the wall and chew the sheets of his wrist. But that would take too long. He stared longingly at the heavy book in Ryan’s hand, wishing he had it for himself so he could use it to clobber Ryan over the head. If only he could get over there somehow, and take it from him.

    Then he had an idea that cause his heart to plunge directly into his stomach. A horrible, terrible idea, but one that might just work. There was no time to think it over, he just had to do it. He closed his eyes for a few moments to steady his breathing, then blinked them open.

    Raj began to lift himself up into a seated position. Using the wall as a support, he managed to get all the way up into a standing position. He fixed a smile to his face.

    This finally got Ryan’s attention. His eyes flicked up from his book, and he looked quickly glance over Raj. “What are you doing?” he said sternly.

    “It’s me again,” said Raj, with a cold but triumphant voice.

    “Carlita?” said Ryan as his face broke into a smile and he lifted himself up from the sofa. “I didn’t know you’d be back so soon! Is she dead?”

    “Yes, she’s dead,” said Raj. “And I wanted to celebrate.” He tried to take a step toward Ryan, but his ankle was held fast by the sheet. “Oh, right,” he said while looking down at his feet.

    “I’ll get those off for you,” said Ryan.

“Thank you,” said Raj. Would Carlita say thank you? She wasn’t exactly the most grateful person.

Ryan didn’t seem to notice, however, as he soon produced a pair of scissors and began snipping away at the bed sheets. The bed sheets were thick, and the work was rather tough, but in a few minutes the sheets lied tattered on the floor.

    “Do you want to know how she died?” said Raj as he laced his fingers behind Ryan’s neck.

    “Yes,” said Ryan, completely entranced by what he thought was Carlita.

    “She was just alone in her room. On a Friday night! Isn’t that pathetic?” said Raj, hoping he wasn’t laying it on too thick. “Anyway, once I possessed her I took the sheets from her bed and made a noose. I told her how much I _hated_ her while I tied the noose onto the railing in her closet. Then I set up a chair, put the noose around her neck, and jumped.”

    The story disgusted Raj, but Ryan smiled.

    “Wonderful,” he said. “Genius.”

    “Now let’s celebrate,” said Raj. He tried to mimic Carlita’s movements from before: he combed his fingers through Ryan’s hair, while his other hand slid up Ryan’s back. His heart began to thump powerfully. He willed it to calm down, but to no avail. Hopefully Ryan wouldn’t be able to feel the thumping, as Carlita was not the type to get flustered.

    But Ryan didn’t seem to notice anything. He simply stared into Raj’s eyes, but before he could get a good look, Raj kissed him. This kiss was rougher than the last one, which gave Raj more of an excuse to push Ryan toward the couch. Together, they collapsed onto the sofa, with Raj on top. He pulled his hand out from behind Ryan’s back and trailed his fingers underneath the hem of Ryan’s shirt, a trick he’d learned from Dakota. Ryan threw his arm over Raj’s back and pulled him closer.

    Then Raj felt a hard edge against his knee. There it was…the book he’d been aiming for. Ryan had left his heavy book on the couch, and now it was right within Raj’s grasp. He slipped his hand out from underneath Ryan’s shirt and deftly picked up the book. It was now or never.

    With one swift motion, he broke the kiss and brought the hard edge of the tome down onto Ryan’s head. Ryan barely had time to register what happened before he hit him again. Repeatedly, he smashed the book down onto Ryan’s head until he was out cold.

    Raj leapt off of the sofa and threw the book from his grasp. He considered tying Ryan up, but there was no time. Besides, the binding was ruined now. Instead, he picked up his keys from where Carlita had left them in the bookcase and rushed out the door. He was down the stairs and in his car in a matter of seconds, and he was on the road in even less time. The car’s clock told him that it was 11:40pm.

    His first stop was Lisa’s house. There was no time for courtesy, so he rang the doorbell until Lisa’s bath robed parents came to the door. Her parents informed him that Colin had just picked her up to go to Raj’s house. So she was alive! Thank God! He assured them that it was a mix-up, that he was sorry for disturbing them, and they told him that they hoped he and Lisa’s last minute school project went well.

    His next stop was his own house. As he pulled down his street, he saw Lisa, Selena, and Colin in a group on his lawn. Lisa was pacing back and forth while on the phone, with Selena following her, while Colin was staring into Raj’s window, his palms cupped around his eyes.

    Lisa saw him first. As he pulled up beside his house, she stopped and stared for a second, uncertain. Then when she saw him getting out of his car, she ran toward him and enveloped him in a hug. She was soon joined by Selena and Colin in a group hug. “Oh my God!” was all Lisa could say.

    Selena let go first. “Give him some space! He probably doesn’t know what’s going on.”

    Lisa and Colin let go at Selena’s prompting, though Colin kept a protective hand on Raj’s shoulder. His shoulder ached. The beating he’d received began to kick in as adrenaline wore off, but he did his best to ignore the pain.

    “Don’t worry, Selena, I know what’s going on,” said Raj. He turned his attention to Lisa. “Lisa, did Carlita hurt you?”

    “Don’t worry about me,” said Lisa, shaking her head. “Where have you been? Are you okay?”

    “Where do I even start?” said Raj.

    “We should start setting up now that Raj is here,” said Selena.

    “Oh, that’s right,” said Lisa. “We were going to conduct a séance so that we could hold Carlita here until her time is up. That way she can’t hurt anyone.”

    “Good idea,” said Raj.

    “You can tell us what happened while we’re setting up. Can you get the crown?” said Lisa, while Selena began lighting candles.

    When Raj stepped toward his front door, Colin followed him. Colin began to speak, but Raj shushed him.

    “I don’t want to wake up my family,” Raj whispered as he quietly turned his key in the lock.

    “You’re worried about waking up your family at a time like this?” Colin whispered back.

    “Yes,” said Raj. “I don’t want them to worry.”

    “What about me?” Colin whispered as he followed Raj down the hallway. “ _I_ was worried!”

    Raj didn’t respond. He quietly opened the door to his room, and he instantly spotted the crown on his night stand. It was still there after everything that happened. Even in the darkness of his room, the crown glittered and cast off little specks of light. As he picked the crown up, he felt Colin grab lightly onto his arm.

    “ _Raj_ ,” he whispered.

    Raj turned around, and their eyes met. Neither of them spoke.

    After a moment, Raj said, “Let’s go,” and brushed past Colin out of his room.

    Once Raj’s front door was securely locked behind him and Colin, he joined Lisa and Selena out on the lawn. Selena was focused on lighting incense, but Lisa was waiting out on the lawn with crossed arms.

    “Raj,” she said when she saw him, “You’ve got to tell us what happened.”

    “If everybody could just sit down on the ground with their hands joined, that would be great,” said Selena. “That way we’ll be ready to go when I have everything set up.”

    Colin grabbed Raj’s left hand, while Lisa grabbed his right, then they sat down on the ground, leaving an empty space for Selena.

    “Well, first of all,” said Raj, “Have you tried calling Aiden?”

    Lisa froze. “I was so worried about you that I totally forgot about Aiden!”

    “Don’t call him,” said Raj. “He’s not who you think he is.”

    Lisa stared at Raj. “What does that mean?”

    “Well…okay, I’ll get to that. This whole thing started because I did something incredibly stupid. I was feeling guilty, so I called Carlita. I just…I couldn’t handle the thought of condemning her to Hell. She appeared, I tried to say sorry, and then she possessed me,” Raj explained.

    Lisa gasped, while Colin took a sharp breath through his nose.

    “Um, she drove me out to some apartment complex in town. We went up to this particular apartment and she knocked on the door. Um…it was Aiden. That’s not even his real name. It’s Ryan. He was helping Carlita.”

    “What the hell?” Lisa said softly. “How?”

    “I don’t know,” said Raj. “I don’t know how they even would have met, or when. But it was him. I know it was him.”

    Lisa looked away, and balled her free hand into a fist. “That bastard,” she said through her teeth. “That rat bastard.”

    “Um, guys?” said Selena. “I’m ready. Also, it’s midnight right now, so that sounds like a good time to start.”

    “I’ll tell you the rest later,” said Raj as Selena joined the circle.

    Selena hunkered down and closed her eyes. After a moment, they fluttered open again, and she said, “Carlita! Are you with us?”


	22. Chapter 22

Almost as soon as Carlita left Nick’s body, she began to feel a tug.

    “Hello? Who’s there?” she said. “Ryan? I told you, you can’t summon me again!”

    Her feet slid a couple inches along the ground, then she jerked away and slammed her foot down. Her eyes darted around wildly. Then she stared straight ahead and stiffened her muscles.

    “I can hear you,” she said softly. “I can hear you!” she repeated loudly. “You’re that weird girl! And Lisa! You resisted me then, but I swear I’ll come back for you. And…and Kukuri?” Carlita’s eyes widened momentarily, then narrowed again. “Kukuri! You’ve made a big mistake! I can sense where you’re calling from, and I’m going to kill you! I’m coming! I’m coming to kill you!”

    She spun on her heel, and a moment she had evaporated away from the twisted wreckage of Nick’s car. But she did not appear on Raj’s lawn. Instead, she appeared inside Ryan’s apartment.

    She found him dazed and lying on the ground. He didn’t seem to see her.

    “Wake up!” she screamed, but he still lay prone.

    She stormed into the kitchen. When she entered, the table and all the chairs moved away from her as if repelled by a magnetic force. She clattered around in the cabinets until she found a pot, which she then filled up with water in the sink. She returned to the room with the bookcase, where books scurried out of her path, and she emptied the pot of water over Ryan’s head.

    He gasped and sat bolt upright.

    “You idiot!” Carlita screeched.

    Ryan stared fearfully at the floating pot. “Carlita, are you there? I can’t see you!”

    At that moment, Carlita’s anger spiked, causing her to flare into existence before Ryan. On viewing her, he backed away and tripped onto the couch.

    “You let Kukuri go! I fucking _trusted_ you!” said Carlita.

    “I--I--I don’t know what happened,” said Ryan. “Please don’t hit me again!”

    “Oh, I’m going to do much worse than hit you,” said Carlita, and she began to walk toward him.

    Ryan raised his arms to cover his face, and then he slowly lowered them. He blinked a few times. Then he smiled.

    “I know you hate being possessed,” said Carlita. “Serves you right.”

    She stepped into the kitchen once more, and this time she went straight for the knife block. She grabbed a chef’s knife, tossed it from one hand to the other, and said “Perfect.”

    With that, she exited Ryan’s apartment and climbed down the stairs. Raj’s car was missing, but she walked past the spot where it used to be as if she didn’t notice or care. Instead, she went straight for the nicest car on the lot, a bright blue Buick. She put her hand up to the window, and it shattered. The car alarm began to go off, but she silenced it almost instantly. She unlocked the car and got inside, and the engine roared to life without Carlita touching anything. As for the knife, she threw it onto the passenger seat to put her--or Ryan’s---hands on the steering wheel.

    Carlita smiled.


	23. Chapter 23

“It’s not working!” Selena cried angrily.

    Raj sighed and shook his head. “She’s too powerful.”

    “What do we do?” said Selena.

    “Nothing. Wait,” said Raj.

    “We can’t just sit around!” said Lisa. “She might hurt someone!”

    “I know, it’s frustrating,” said Raj. “But there’s nothing we can do.”

    “Can’t we…can’t you call her?” said Lisa.

    “It doesn’t work anymore,” said Raj. “Carlita!” he called. He waited a moment, then said, “See?”

    “I just…I wish…” Lisa trailed off.

    “If Raj says there’s nothing we can do, there’s nothing we can do,” said Colin. “Now why don’t you tell us the rest of your story, Raj?”

    “Oh,” said Raj. He detached his hand from Colin’s to rub his eyes. “Okay. Where was I?”

    “You were at Aiden,” Lisa said dejectedly, letting go of Raj’s other hand.

    “Right,” Raj said carefully. “Uh…Carlita got Ryan to tie me up, and then she left, and she told me she was going to kill you, Lisa.” Raj skirted around any mention of Ryan kissing him or beating him. He didn’t want his friends, especially Lisa, to be any more upset.

    Lisa just sighed.

    “I was able to escape by pretending Carlita had possessed me again,” Raj continued. “I got Ryan to free me, then I knocked him out and escaped. First I drove to Lisa’s house, and that’s how I found out where everyone was. And now I’m here, I guess.”

    “Wow,” said Selena. “You knocked him out?”

    “With a book,” said Raj. “A really big one.”

    “You sure you’re alright?” said Colin.

    “I’m fine,” said Raj.

    “I’m just asking because your face looks kind of weird,” said Colin.

    “Huh?”

    “Lisa, does your phone have a light?” said Colin.

    “Yeah, just a second,” Lisa replied.

    “Guys, really, I’m fine!” Raj insisted.

    Lisa ignored him and activated her phone’s light, which illuminated Raj’s face. This revealed a cut above Raj’s eyebrow, with dried blood caked around it and stuck in his eyebrow.

    “There! I thought I saw something!” said Colin. “I just wasn’t sure because it was dark.”

    “Holy cow,” said Selena.

    “What happened?” Lisa asked.

    “Nothing,” said Raj.

    “Bullshit!” said Selena

    “Fine!” said Raj. “After Ryan tied me up and Carlita left, Ryan beat on me for a while. And he insulted me, and spat on me. Happy?”

    “No!” said Colin, clearly horrified. He grabbed Colin’s hand and started to get up. “Come on, we’ve got to clean that off.”

    Raj pulled his hand out of Colin’s grasp. “Please. I don’t want to disturb my family.”

    “ _Raj_ ,” Colin said as he tried to grab Raj’s hand again.

    “ _Colin_ ,” Raj replied as he avoided Colin’s grasp.

    “Fine,” Colin huffed, sitting back down on the ground.

    “Lisa,” said Selena. “You alright?”

    It was then that Ryan noticed that Lisa was crying.

    “God, this is all my fault,” she sobbed. “I’m so _stupid_ about boys. I had no idea who Aiden _was_. How could I let someone like that hang around with my friends?”

    “Hey, it’s not your fault,” said Selena as she grabbed Lisa’s hand.

    “It was me!” Lisa cried. “I brought Aiden and Carlita together!”

    “There was no way you could have known,” said Selena. “None of us knew.”

    “He was my boyfriend!” said Lisa. “I, of all people, should have known that he’s a psychopath!”

    While Selena tried to console Lisa, Raj lied back onto the ground and put his arms over his eyes. He let his mind spin out into the sky and drift away from him, and for a while he watched the patterns that the insides of his eyelids created for him. The starbursts faded away, and he wanted to cry like Lisa. But he just couldn’t.

    Someone tapped his shoulder. Raj removed his arms from his face and saw Colin looming over him. He lifted himself back up and saw Lisa crying onto Selena’s shoulder.

    “You okay?” Colin said quietly.

    “I’m fine,” said Raj.

    “You keep on saying that,” said Colin.

    “I just don’t want anyone to worry about me,” said Raj.

    Colin glanced to either side, then inched closer to Raj. “You keep on saying _that_ , too. But listen, like I was trying to tell you inside the house, _I’ll_ worry about you. So will Lisa and Selena. That’s why we’re out here. I know you hate being a burden on other people or whatever, but as long as people care about you, you can’t just _stop_ them from worrying about you. Sorry, Raj, it’s a part of being loved.”

    Leave it to Colin to say how much he cared through a lecture. Raj laughed.

    “What?” said Colin.

    “Nothing,” said Raj. “Just. You’re probably right.”

    “Of course I am,” Colin said with a smile.

    Then Raj was wrapping his arms around Colin’s back and hugging him close. He felt Colin’s hands on his own back, and it was wonderful, and just this hug was so much better than any kiss or touch from Ryan or Dakota. Raj closed his eyes, and the two of them stayed there for a long time.

    The sound of screeching tires pierced the air as a bright blue Buick barreled down the street.

Raj broke apart from Colin and whipped his head toward the noise. “Run,” he said as he grabbed Colin’s arm and tugged him upwards. “Run!” he yelled to Lisa and Selena.

Raj took off, and the other three ran after him. He didn’t want to lead Carlita to his home, so he threw open his neighbor’s gate and ran into their backyard. Frantically, he searched for a hiding place, and he spotted a large bush right next to the wall. First he shepherded all his friends into the space between the bush and the wall, then he himself squeezed into it.

The slam of a car door echoed.

“I saw you on the lawn!” Ryan yelled.

It was Ryan’s voice, but Raj could tell it was really Carlita. Ryan’s tone was soft but intense, while Carlita’s tone was loud and accusatory.

“Come on!” Carlita continued. “I know you can’t be far!”

Lisa was sniffling, but she was trying her best to stay quiet. Ryan felt a rush affection for her, and for all his friends. He wished that they were in their own homes instead of here.

“It’s me she wants,” Raj whispered. “She’s going to kill me.”

“Don’t say that!” Lisa whispered.

Raj swallowed. There was really only one way to guarantee the safety of his friends. He had to take Carlita somewhere else. For some reason she had chosen to come in Ryan’s body, which gave Raj a little bit of leeway. He could run outside and get her attention, and then run off down the street. Surely he would end up dying, but it was either dying sooner and saving his friends, or dying later with all his friends. And he wanted to save his friends. He just had a few things to tell them before he went.

“Lisa, I want you to get into Julliard and become world famous,” said Raj.

“Raj, no! Don’t say that kind of stuff! You sound like you’re saying goodbye!” said Lisa.

“Please, just let me,” Raj whispered.

Once Lisa saw the look in Raj’s eye, she stayed silent, but her eyes filled with tears.

“Selena, you’re really smart and amazing, and I hope you’re successful at being a costume designer or an artist or whatever it is you want to be,” said Raj.

Selena smiled tearfully.

“Colin,” Raj began, his heart beating in his ears. “You’re such a great director. I know you’ll be a groundbreaking filmmaker.”

Colin smiled. “You too,” he whispered.

Raj’s mouth was dry. “I…I like you…a lot. I kind of love you. Like…I just want to hold your hand all day. I love you, Colin.” When he finished his confession, he stared down at the ground. He could feel all three pairs of eyes boring down on him, and his blood was on fire.

“Raj, I--” Colin began.

But then came the sound of the gate creaking open. The four friends instantly went silent. Being closest to the gate, Raj peered out from behind the bush, and there was Ryan’s shadowy form, framed by the open gate. The silhouette was taking slow steps while scanning side to side, and something glinted in its hand. Raj narrowed his eyes, and realized that it was a knife. So far Ryan’s gaze had scanned over their little hideout without incident, but it was only a matter of time before they were discovered. It was now or never.

Raj leapt out from behind the bush, his hands raised defensively.

Carlita noticed him instantly. “ _Kukuri_ ,” she hissed, pointing her knife at him.

Raj tried his best not to think of how it would feel for a knife to plunge into his chest. He took a tentative step toward Carlita, daring her.

There was a sound of rattling leaves, and a hand slipped into his own. With a quick glance to the right he took in Colin’s determined face. They interlaced fingers, and Raj faced Carlita once more, expecting a knife to flash toward him any second. But something was off.

A silvery, corporeal stream was flowing from Ryan’s head. His hand slowly lowered, and the knife slipped from his grasp. Barely audible screaming hissed in their ears, but it slowly grew louder and louder. The stream began to emanate a bright light, and steely but beautiful voices began to drown out the screaming. By now it was clear that the stream was being sucked into a bright spot in the dark, cloudy sky.

All at once, the bright spot fizzled out and Ryan’s body collapsed.

Raj and Colin looked at each other in disbelief. Hands still linked, they approached the body little by little. Though the body lie prone, Raj was still afraid that it could spring to life at any second and attack. But when it became clear that it wasn’t going to move, he used both hands to roll Ryan onto his back. Ryan’s eyes were closed.

“Is it safe?” Selena whispered from the bush.

“I think so?” Colin replied.

Selena crawled out from behind the bush, closely followed by Lisa. They gathered around Raj and Colin to examine the body.

“He’s still alive,” said Raj.

“Unfortunately,” added Colin.

“We should call the police,” said Lisa. “He needs to be thrown in jail.”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” said Lisa. “Are we going to talk about what just happened? What _was_ that?”

Ryan suddenly breathed in and opened his eyes, which caused everyone to jump. He tried to get up, but four pairs of hands pushed him back down.

“Carlita?” he said desperately. “Hello?”

“Lisa, call the police,” said Raj as he pressed down on Ryan’s chest.

Lisa nodded and parted from the group, while they rearranged themselves to restrain Ryan.

“Where is she?” Ryan cried. “She was here a second ago. But I felt like we were being torn apart. It was awful…awful…”

A light went on in Raj’s head. “Guys, I think that stream that was coming from his head was Carlita. It looked like she was being sucked out of him.”

“But why?” said Selena.

“Carlita,” Ryan moaned, as his eyes filled with tears.

“I don’t know,” said Raj. “Is she gone now, Ryan?”

Ryan’s only reply was to turn his face away and burst into tears.

“I think she’s gone,” Raj said quietly, though he didn’t want to hope.

Lisa returned, phone in hand. “The police are on their way. I told them my ex-boyfriend was here with a knife and we managed to pin him down.”

“The whole truth is too weird, anyway,” said Lisa.

The group fell into silence, so that the only sound was an occasional sob from Ryan. Raj was slowly starting to let the news of Carlita’s disappearance envelop him. His heart swelled, and his entire chest felt light. He could finally breathe. As Raj contemplated these things, he saw Colin staring at him out of the corner of his eye. Raj flushed and turned away. So everything was out in the open now. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too awkward between him and Colin.

About four cop cars showed up. Any crime in suburbia was big crime. Ryan was soon apprehended and stuffed into the back of a vehicle, while Lisa spoke to a cop. Raj, Colin, and Selena stood to the side, watching the events unfold.

Nothing felt more solid than the gap between Raj and Colin. Raj didn’t know how to speak or act around Colin now that the big secret was out, so he just felt the congealed blood in his eyebrow. It was hard to focus on one thing that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, as everything was too much of a jumble. Raj let his mind wander from event to event, shying away from the painful ones and focusing on the good ones. One of the good ones was how Colin had jumped in with Raj to face Carlita. He’d grabbed Raj’s hand. They had both thought it was their final moment and had held on to each other for dear life. The true impact of what Colin had done began to dawn on Raj. Colin was willing to stand by Raj in times of peril--he was willing to keep him company in his darkest moments.

With these thoughts rushing through his brain, Raj took a sideways glance at Colin, just in time to see Colin glancing away from him. Before long, Colin’s eyes were again drawn toward Raj, and this time their eyes locked. They stared at each other, neither knowing what to say.

At last, Colin edged toward Raj until the gap between them was closed. Keeping his eyes on Raj, Colin shyly took hold of Raj’s hand.

Colin began to speak, his words slow and measured. “I was very glad…to hear your confession…and I want to return your affections.”

Leave it to Colin to admit his love with a calculated speech.

But then Colin turned red, and began to deliver an unpolished speech in a fevered whisper. “When I went to film camp the summer after freshman year there was this older boy there, and I had an experience with him, and I began to realize that I might like guys too. And when I looked back there were all these signs. Then you were always hanging out with me after I came back from camp. You were always so affectionate, and I wanted to touch you so many times. But I was afraid, because I didn’t want you to hate me. It’s been agony.”

Raj stroked Colin lightly along his cheek. Then he put both hands behind Colin’s neck so that he could pull him closer and whisper into his ear, “I’ve loved you almost since I first met you.” He felt Colin shiver, so he pressed Colin’s body into his and closed his eyes.

Lisa was winding down her report by now, but it was suddenly interrupted by a crackle and a muffled voice as the cop received a dispatch.

“A big wreck was found by River Road,” the cop explained.

“Oh,” said Lisa, “Well, I’m just about done. Maybe you’d better head down there.”

“Don’t worry, young lady, we’ve got enough manpower to go around,” said the cop. “But thanks for your concern.”

“Is the person in the wreck alright?” Lisa asked.

“I can’t really say right now. But listen, why don’t you get some rest? I know you must be shaken up, and it’s pretty late.”

“Sounds reasonable,” said Lisa.

As the cop spoke, he began to write in his little black book. “This looks like it will be a pretty open and shut case. You may be expected to appear in court, but it’s ultimately your choice.” He tore out the page he had been writing on and handed it to Lisa. “Here’s my name and number if you have any questions. You’ve been very brave, Lisa.” He punctuated the statement with a smile, then shuffled off to his car.

When the cop had gone, Lisa turned to Selena. “They have to say all that stuff. But I don’t really mind. I’m just glad that Ryan’s going to jail.”

“Hey, look over there,” Selena said quietly. She gestured toward Colin and Raj with a tilt of her head. “I knew it.”

“No you didn’t,” said Lisa.

“I’m clairvoyant, alright?” said Selena.

“Sure,” said Lisa. “Do you think I’ll get in trouble for lying to the cops?”

“They wouldn’t believe the truth anyway,” said Selena.

“No, not that. I told them I was eighteen so they wouldn’t have to get my parents involved,” said Lisa.

“We’ll worry about that later,” said Selena. She shoved her hands in her pockets and looked up at the sky. “God, this is so weird! I can barely believe all this stuff happened!”

“You know, I noticed something when Carlita was getting sucked out of Ryan’s body,” said Lisa.

“What’s that?” Selena prompted.

“It’s weird, but…it kind of looked similar to when Amber went to heaven. Especially that bright light from above,” said Lisa.

“But there’s no way that Amber went to heaven,” said Selena. “She was evil.”

“Yeah,” said Lisa. She hesitated. “But…what if she did?”

“No. No way,” said Selena, shaking her head.

“But listen. The parameters were that the least popular kid in school had to date the most popular kid within a week. And look.” Lisa pointed at Colin and Raj, who were still wrapped in an embrace. “They look like they’re dating now.”

Selena continued to shake her head. “Colin’s not the most popular kid in school, though.”

Lisa raised her hands. “I’m just saying. I’ve seen this before and that light definitely reminded me of when Amber went to Heaven.”

Once Lisa finished her sentence, Selena marched over to Colin and tapped him on the shoulder. He partly disentangled himself from Raj to look at Selena.

“Yes?” said Colin.

“Did you do anything recently to suddenly get wildly popular?” Selena demanded.

Colin looked confused, then his eyes widened. “Oh! Are you talking about my YouTube videos?”

“What about them?” said Selena.

“The ones about ghosts got really popular and I hit 2000 subscribers because people love sensationalism,” said Colin matter-of-factly.

Selena’s mouth dropped open. “2000…” she whispered. “That’s more than the entire population of our school! My God, you really _are_ the most popular kid in school!” She began to pace around the lawn. “And that means that Carlita really _did_ go to Heaven! This is an outrage!”

“Wait, what?” said Raj, pulling away from Colin.

“Carlita, the scum of the earth, is frolicking around with angels,” Selena fumed.

“I’m not surprised,” said Colin. “That’s what happens when passage into Heaven is based on arbitrary tests rather than actually being a good person.”

“Would Carlita even like Heaven?” said Raj.

“I hope she hates it!” said Selena. “I hope all the good people up there shun her for being evil, and she’s alone forever!”

“I don’t think good people would do that,” said Raj.

“And you were so worried about sending her to Hell,” Colin teased. He ruffled Raj’s hair.

“I don’t even care,” said Raj. “I’m just glad you’re all alive and well.”

Selena cut her pacing short. “Me too.”

“Same,” said Lisa, putting a hand on Selena’s shoulder.

“Come on, everybody,” said Colin. “Group hug.”

The four of them put their arms over each other’s backs. They hugged for a bit, then stepped back slightly, so that the hug now looked more like a huddle.

“You’re all welcome to sleep over at my house,” said Raj quietly, “since it’s pretty late.”

“Sure, if you’ve got extra blankets,” said Selena. “And toothpaste.”

One more time, Raj quietly opened the front door. The stillness of his house was astonishing after everything that had happened. He led his friends to his room, where they waited while he grabbed extra blankets and pillows.

Lisa and Selena fell asleep rather quickly. They curled up next to each other on a blanket on the floor. Selena was using Lisa’s shoulder as a headrest, with her arm slung haphazardly over Lisa’s stomach. Astoundingly, Lisa wasn’t the least bit bothered, probably because she slept like a log.

Raj and Colin lied next to each other on Raj’s bed. The high of their new relationship kept them up and whispering for at least another hour. Finally they were able to tell each other all the secret things they had harbored in their hearts; those things that they had never told anyone else.

“I was fifteen, and the other kid was seventeen,” Colin whispered. “At the time, he seemed pretty old. Both of us had come to the camp without prior friends, so we started hanging out. He kept on saying how the camp was so restricting, and how we should rebel, and I just thought he was this cool older kid who didn’t take crap from anyone. Anyway, one of his ways of rebelling was going out after lights out, so one time he suggested that we go swimming in the lake after lights out. Then he dared me to skinny dip with him. We both dived in, and we were swimming around, and I noticed that he kept looking at me. Then suddenly he asked me if I’d ever thought about getting with a guy, and we started kissing, and touching each other. It was exhilarating. But we lost touch after camp. It was probably for the best. Just a summer fling.”

“Wow,” Raj whispered. “That’s something.”

“That whole experience kind of threw me for a loop. I’d always thought that I just liked girls, but then I started remembering stuff. Like, one time, I went on a trip to New York with my parents when I was a kid. We were walking down the street in NYC and I saw two guys kissing, and I remember that it really intrigued me. I also remember when my mom brought home a client when I was in sixth grade, and it was this really handsome young guy. I kept on following him around and trying to get him to play catch with me. Now when I think about it, I definitely had a crush on that guy.”

“I had a couple crushes throughout school, but you were my first big crush,” said Raj. “I never had an experience like you did at camp, though.”

“It was just a thing…” said Colin. “Some weird thing that happened. But I’m glad it did.”

“Something happened to me at Ryan’s apartment,” Raj whispered slowly. He gulped.

“Okay,” said Colin as he ran the back of his fingers along Raj’s temple.

Raj’s heart was battering at his sternum. “I left it out earlier, but it happened right after I got to his apartment. Carlita was saying how she missed touching things, and all of a sudden she starting using my body to kiss Ryan, and I could feel everything. It was horrible.”

Colin paused, but Raj only stopped to swallow and breathe in before he continued. “And I told you I pretended to be Carlita. But…but the way I did it. I told him…that I wanted to celebrate. He untied me, and I kissed him, and I pushed him onto the couch while I was kissing him. There was a heavy book on the couch, and I used it to knock him out. It was horrible, like the time before. But I had to escape…it was just so disgusting.”

Colin pressed his lips to Raj’s forehead, then said, “It’s not a reflection on you. You had no choice in the matter.”

“I know,” said Raj. “But I just wish my first experience had been a little more like yours.” Raj sighed deeply.

“Raj, it doesn’t count. You had no say in the matter. Your first experience should be pleasant and exciting, not terrifying,” said Colin.

“I wish you were right,” Raj said quietly.

Colin responded by taking Raj into his arms. Raj’s head was pressed against Colin’s shoulder, and their limbs were all tangled up. Somewhere amongst their tangle limbs, their hands found each other. Here they remained while Raj’s thoughts drifted away.

For one, he could hardly believe that Colin liked him back. Well, he could believe it now, but the whole experience still felt very surreal. For years he’d fantasized about confessing, or Colin confessing, and now that it had happened he felt all too lucky. In his dreams it had been less fevered, and sweeter. Raj had imagined himself telling Colin everything, and Colin would listen, then he would take Raj’s hand and confirm that he liked him back. What came after had never really crossed his mind, because imagining the confession was unachievable enough. Whereas, in real life, he confessed when he’d thought he was going to die, then there was some awkwardness, and Colin had nervously accepted, and since then they’d done nothing but talk, with fear and hope in their voices. Not to mention Colin’s experience at camp! The story sounded so grown up to Raj. Having done that, how could Colin be nervous about anything? No, that was unfair, but Raj felt inadequate when he thought of that story. Did every gay kid have such an experience so early? Was he just too shy?

But now…now Colin was his boyfriend. Boyfriend! What an unfamiliar word. It sounded so strange when applied to his life, and to Colin especially. Colin was his boyfriend, meaning that he could hold his hand. Meaning that he could touch Colin’s face, and his hair. And, Raj realized, he could eventually kiss him. Raj’s heart throbbed. He thought again of Colin’s experience at camp. Colin being nervous. Colin kissing someone. Colin floating in cold, clear water. Right at this moment, Colin’s chest was moving slowly up and down. Raj was pressed so close to Colin that he could feel every expansion. Was Colin already asleep? Raj pulled back slightly from Colin so that he could look at his face, but Colin’s eyes were still open. Silently, they stared at each other.

Right now they simply stared for the sake of staring. They were content in each other’s gaze. But, Raj realized, there were times when one of them was nervous, and it wasn’t always Raj. And there were times when one of them was daring. It was a cycle. Probably a normal cycle, Raj thought. A first relationship cycle. First relationship! Raj told himself to slow down, it had only been one day. But it felt far longer. After all, they had both had a crush on each other for years. Maybe Colin was feeling the same way as Raj right now. Maybe he was feeling nervous, and maybe he wanted to kiss Raj, just like Raj wanted to kiss him. And maybe it was Raj’s turn to be daring. That’s right, be daring!

Their eyes had been locked for half a minute.

“Can I kiss you?” Raj whispered.

Colin’s eyes widened as he registered the request, then he nodded. He shifted position so that he was half-sitting up, and Raj heard the bed covers rustle. Every detail now magnified itself, and he was particularly aware of how the bed slightly creaked as he leaned toward Colin, and how the tag on his shirt was rubbing against his neck, and how either Selena or Lisa was snoring very lightly, and how a soft orange light came through his window from the street lamps outside.

And Colin was accepting and warm, and his lips were soft and pliable, and it was the tenderest kiss of Raj’s life, and he hoped to have many more like it.


	24. Chapter 24

In the end, Carlita had only killed two people. Paisley was ruled a suicide, while Nick was chalked up to reckless driving at night. Both were tragedies.

Dakota had not died from her fall down the stairs. Her neck had been broken, and she had called for help until her parents found her. Unfortunately she had been paralyzed from the neck down, but she still retained limited use of her arms and legs, so she was able to type and write. Raj was glad that at least one person had survived Carlita’s wrath.

Due to the circumstances, the rest of the school year was cancelled lift students of the burden of extra work while they were grieving. There had only been about two weeks left in the school year anyway, so it was not too much of a blow on their education.

Ryan had been charged for stalking and attempted murder. Since he was twenty and Lisa was a minor, the judge had been rather unforgiving, and Ryan was sentenced to ten years in prison. Lisa had attended the trial, and as she told Raj, at least she had a good story off of it.

Raj’s parents had come to terms with the fact that Anushka wanted to be a dancer, and they signed her up for more dance classes. Ryan’s mom especially had realized that Anushka’s mind couldn’t be changed, and she wasn’t unreasonable. The only thing now was to provide her full support. This didn’t stop her from trying to get Anushka to enter pageants, because pageantry apparently taught young girls how to speak well and how to prevent themselves. Anushka would always sigh and shake off the idea, while content in the idea that she had won the major battle.

This brought Raj to his next goal, which was coming out to his parents. Raj and Colin had decided that they would come out to their respective parents on the same day, and would use each other as support. Both were more nervous than worried. But they were glad to have each other.

Though largely happy, Raj would often have nightmares about Carlita and the experiences she had put him through. One way or another, she had permanently affected his life. Surely, he could never forget Carlita for as long as he lived.


End file.
